Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente under pressure but still not dismissed
Óscar Puente has not resigned for now and Sánchez has not dismissed him, according to Cadena SER. The CSIF union and the government's allies are calling for his head as pressure mounts.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Óscar Puente has not resigned and Sánchez has not dismissed him, for now
There is a certain irony to the paradox. A transport minister racks up two rail disasters —Urda and Adamuz—, stops posting on his X account and appears before Congress while half the government looks the other way. And the official answer, according to Cadena SER, is that he is neither resigning nor expected to be dismissed imminently. On Tuesday he asked to appear before the Permanent Fruta to explain the train situation. Quite something.
It all began with an accident in Urda (Toledo) that left people dead and a trail of unanswered questions. The opposition, Vox included, files a incivil complaint for manslaughter before the Supreme Court. The CSIF, the union representing Adif's own staff, calls for his resignation. Even the government's allies join the call for his head. And the minister, meanwhile, according to his own tweet, was in the control centre from 9:40, although a video places him entering the World Infrastructure Forum at 10:28.
Why won't Óscar Puente resign?
There are several possible answers to that question, and none of them is reassuring. Some argue that the electoral cost of keeping him is unsustainable and that Sánchez will dismiss him as soon as he finds the right moment. Others suggest the opposite: Puente's meteoric rise since his failure as mayor of Valladolid can only be explained, according to a theory doing the rounds, by his handling of privileged information. Those who know too much are not simply let go; they are kept close.
The most optimistic calculation for the PSOE assumes the resignation will be sold as an act of responsibility and that the noise will die down before 29N. The pessimistic scenario assumes that every day without a dismissal means 100,000 more votes for Vox, according to the circulating estimate. The election date is pressing, and so is the judicial calendar.
The CSIF and the government's allies call for his head
The CSIF union, which represents Adif workers, has formally called for the minister's resignation. This is no minor detail: it is the railway infrastructure's own employees who are demanding accountability. If anyone can expose the internal embarrassments of the management, it is them.
On top of that comes pressure from the parliamentary allies. Even the parties propping up the government have demanded explanations. The question is whether that wear and tear will translate into a dismissal or whether Sánchez will go for the usual firewall: keeping the minister on until another scandal buries this one. Experience with Mínguez, the usurer husband affair, suggests the prime minister's patience has limits, but not always the same ones.
A timeline of erosion: from Urda to Congress
The first blow came with the Urda accident. The minister tweets about the sarracena superiority of the left while the video of the crash circulates. Then, the appearance before the media, the request to appear in Congress and the silence on social media. The CSIF calls for his resignation. Vox files a complaint. The allies join in. And Cadena SER reports that he is not considering resigning.
The question left hanging is not whether Puente will fall, but when and how. Some bet on first thing Monday, with a premium beach-bar contract already agreed. Others think he will hold out until after the elections, because after all, there is a month left and no one will remember. And a third group suspects he will never fall: that the hominid is immortal. The only certainty is that the silence on his X account has already lasted too long.
There is a certain irony to the paradox. A transport minister racks up two rail disasters —Urda and Adamuz—, stops posting on his X account and appears before Congress while half the government looks the other way. And the official answer, according to Cadena SER, is that he is neither resigning nor expected to be dismissed imminently. On Tuesday he asked to appear before the Permanent Fruta to explain the train situation. Quite something.
It all began with an accident in Urda (Toledo) that left people dead and a trail of unanswered questions. The opposition, Vox included, files a incivil complaint for manslaughter before the Supreme Court. The CSIF, the union representing Adif's own staff, calls for his resignation. Even the government's allies join the call for his head. And the minister, meanwhile, according to his own tweet, was in the control centre from 9:40, although a video places him entering the World Infrastructure Forum at 10:28.
Why won't Óscar Puente resign?
There are several possible answers to that question, and none of them is reassuring. Some argue that the electoral cost of keeping him is unsustainable and that Sánchez will dismiss him as soon as he finds the right moment. Others suggest the opposite: Puente's meteoric rise since his failure as mayor of Valladolid can only be explained, according to a theory doing the rounds, by his handling of privileged information. Those who know too much are not simply let go; they are kept close.
The most optimistic calculation for the PSOE assumes the resignation will be sold as an act of responsibility and that the noise will die down before 29N. The pessimistic scenario assumes that every day without a dismissal means 100,000 more votes for Vox, according to the circulating estimate. The election date is pressing, and so is the judicial calendar.
The CSIF and the government's allies call for his head
The CSIF union, which represents Adif workers, has formally called for the minister's resignation. This is no minor detail: it is the railway infrastructure's own employees who are demanding accountability. If anyone can expose the internal embarrassments of the management, it is them.
On top of that comes pressure from the parliamentary allies. Even the parties propping up the government have demanded explanations. The question is whether that wear and tear will translate into a dismissal or whether Sánchez will go for the usual firewall: keeping the minister on until another scandal buries this one. Experience with Mínguez, the usurer husband affair, suggests the prime minister's patience has limits, but not always the same ones.
A timeline of erosion: from Urda to Congress
The first blow came with the Urda accident. The minister tweets about the sarracena superiority of the left while the video of the crash circulates. Then, the appearance before the media, the request to appear in Congress and the silence on social media. The CSIF calls for his resignation. Vox files a complaint. The allies join in. And Cadena SER reports that he is not considering resigning.
The question left hanging is not whether Puente will fall, but when and how. Some bet on first thing Monday, with a premium beach-bar contract already agreed. Others think he will hold out until after the elections, because after all, there is a month left and no one will remember. And a third group suspects he will never fall: that the hominid is immortal. The only certainty is that the silence on his X account has already lasted too long.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (81 replies).
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