"You have been a great minister". That is how the spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana, Gabriel Rufián, said goodbye to the former Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, when concluding the Permanent Committee of the Congress where he announced his resignation.
Rufián approached the minister at the end of the session to shake his hand and say goodbye, and then he told him those words whispered in his ear that the Congress microphones 'caught'.
Puente chose to announce his resignation unexpectedly in the final minutes of an appearance lasting more than five hours to give account for the tragedy of Urda, in which 69 people have died after a collision between two high-speed trains.
He will not continue in the Government nor will he also present himself for the next general elections to the Congress as the lead candidate for Valladolid, as had been planned.
The minister justified that his resignation was required after the second fatal accident on high speed in less than a year.