Cayetana, Spain's No. 2 marquise in Madrid, mourns minister Fátima Báñez

Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo has said farewell to Fátima Báñez on X as "a brave reformer" and "a stateswoman" after the death of the former PP labour minister was confirmed in the Urda train crash. The tribute comes from a marquise who belongs to the same party and has made internal criticism her trademark.

The news is the death of **Fátima Báñez**, Spain's labour minister for the PP between 2011 and 2018, in the **Urda** rail accident. The confirmation came from Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo herself on X, where she bid her farewell as "a great manager", "a brave reformer" and "one of the kindest, noblest and most affectionate people I have ever known". This is no ordinary obituary: it is signed by the Marquise of Casa Fuerte, an MP for the PP and one of the most critical voices against her own party's leadership.

## Who Fátima Báñez was

Báñez held the labour portfolio throughout **Mariano Rajoy**'s governments, and her name became tied to the **2012** labour reform, the one that made dismissal cheaper and made collective bargaining more flexible. She later stepped away from frontline politics and moved to the private sector. Her death in a rail disaster turns the farewell into a political gesture: the person paying tribute is an MP who has publicly questioned the PP's direction.

## Praise as a statement

Álvarez de Toledo is not praising an ideological rival, but a party colleague with whom she shared a seat in parliament and disagreements. The text stresses the personal —"kind, noble, affectionate"— and the professional —"manager", "reformer". It is a closing of ranks in emotional terms that also recalls the weight of the PP's reformist wing on labour matters.

Spanish economic policy over the past decade cannot be understood without that **2012** reform, defended by some as a remedy against unemployment and criticised by others as a source of precariousness. Báñez's farewell comes with that bill still open.