Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente caught on X and Tinder

Óscar Puente's digital double life: X, Tinder and a ministry on hold

Can a transport minister juggle running a department with frantic activity on social media and a dating app? The question is not rhetorical, because Óscar Puente, the secretary general of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) in Castilla y León, has been at the centre of a controversy that has been simmering for some time.

The accusations, which have not been officially confirmed, claim that the minister devoted considerable time to his profiles on X (formerly Twitter) and on the dating app while heading the ministry. Critics have used screenshots and videos to argue that his phone was a priority. That explains the tone of the comments: "if it's not Candy Crush it's this or that", "he wastes time on Twitter and Facebook".

The age-old debate about the public official who doesn't pay attention

This episode has a classic precedent: politicians accused of playing solitaire or minesweeper during sessions. The difference now is that dating apps add a titillation factor audiences enjoy. But the underlying issue remains the same: the suspicion that someone paid out of the public budget is not doing their job.

Some commentators point out that a minister is also entitled to leisure time and that private life is inviolable. Others reply that the social media activity was not exactly private, and that the fact it was visible to anyone makes it fair game for scrutiny.

What if it's just a Twitter storm?

There is no record of any sanction, nor that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called his minister to order. The controversy, fuelled on social media, ended up as an anecdote of the week. But the video, like the tweet, cannot be deleted. Meanwhile, Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters) hopes the matter will blow over. Perhaps it would sooner if the protagonist had pressed the mute button instead of the "match" one.