Disney Gives Up Florida Campus Amidst Political Battle with Governor Ron DeSantis

2023-05-19 00:54:56

In the midst of a political battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Disney announced Thursday that the group was giving up building a campus in the state near its amusement park.

The cost of the campus, according to press reports, was estimated in 2021 at 864 million dollars (781 million Swiss francs). The decision to give up on this project “was not easy to make, but I think it’s the right one”, notes Josh D’Amaro.

Tensions with DeSantis

The decision also comes once morest the backdrop of strong political tensions with local authorities. They consider the company too progressive since its leaders publicly denounced, in 2022, a bill that restricted the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida elementary schools. .

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star of the American hard right who has launched an offensive once morest a supposed “woke” culture, ended in February the special status that Disney had enjoyed in his state since the 1960s.

To read: At odds with Ron DeSantis, Disney boss accuses Florida of being ‘anti-trade’

The governor has also publicly mentioned the construction of a prison near Disney World or new taxes on hotels on the site, which employs 75,000 people and attracts 50 million visitors a year.

Disney responded by filing a complaint, saying it was “targeted revenge” once morest him to punish him for exercising his “freedom of expression”.

A boon for his opponent

A figure of the populist right in the United States, Ron DeSantis is widely seen as Donald Trump’s most serious competitor for the Republican primary preceding the next presidential elections. According to US media, the Governor of Florida may soon announce his 2024 presidential bid.

Read also: The bad luck of the almost candidate Ron DeSantis

And a sign of the political significance of the dispute with Disney, Donald Trump railed once morest Ron DeSantis in a statement on Thursday, accusing him of having lost the group’s investment “all alone”, because the governor would be “too weak to fight for its state”. “Ron DeSantis’ failed conflict with Disney hasn’t really helped his phantom and wobbly campaign,” added the Republican billionaire.

Criticism over the row had already begun to emerge on the right, with some Republicans lambasting an anti-corporate fight that goes once morest their party’s tradition.

On the Democratic side, the head of Orange County – which includes the city of Lake Nona where the campus was to be located – considered Disney’s decision “regrettable”. But “it’s a predictable consequence when the working environment between the State of Florida and the business community is not inclusive and collaborative,” said Jerry Demings.

A project led by the former general manager

Since the 1960s, Disney had enjoyed a special status with many advantages – administrative facilities, self-management of the site, advantageous loans, etc.

On this point: Disney recalls its iconic boss Bob Iger to helm the Kingdom

The group had announced in July 2021 its intention to ask more than 2,000 employees to move to Florida. This project was led by the former managing director, Bob Chapek, replaced in November 2022 by Bob Iger when Disney’s results were weakened by the weak performance of the group’s streaming platform, Disney+.

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