Puente: Sánchez is the PSOE's Jordan, and I wouldn't pass the last shot

Óscar Puente puts himself forward as Sánchez's successor with the PSOE's Jordan comparison

Spain's Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has hinted in an interview with Europa Press that he does not rule out succeeding Pedro Sánchez as leader of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) within four or five years, after the next term in office. His argument for not closing the door was a basketball analogy: "I don't think I'm that player, I don't think I'm the one who has to take the last shot. But I also say that if it came down to it, with two seconds left and I had to take the shot, I'm not one of those who pass the ball." And he rounded it off: "Sánchez has to last, he's the PSOE's Jordan."

The analogy is no accident. Puente casts himself as a loyal sidekick who, when the moment comes, would not pass up the decisive shot. A way of saying he is available without formally declaring himself a candidate — a calculated exercise in ambiguity that will be read closely within the PSOE.

The reactions, however, have gone in a different direction. The comparison with Jordan has sparked a wave of comments on social media and digital outlets that have turned into personal attacks against the minister, some with racist overtones that contribute little to the political debate. Controversial episodes from Puente's past have also resurfaced, used as ammunition.

The detail that raises eyebrows is not the declared ambition, but the timing: a serving minister publicly mapping out the succession of his party's secretary general four or five years from now. In a party with the PSOE's history, that is called positioning. Calling it loyalty would be, at the very least, quite sporting.