The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, has expressed her recognition of Óscar Puente, until yesterday the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, for his "love for Spain" and his "dignity", underlining that she has assumed his political responsibility after the two serious rail accidents recorded this year.
In a message posted on her profile on the social network X and collected by Europa Press, Rodríguez asked that the gesture of the Socialist leader be taken into account: "When they tell you that all politicians are the same, remember Óscar Puente taking responsibility and dealing with the situation".
The head of Housing has also highlighted the "commitment to the PSOE" shown by Puente throughout his career and at this moment of crisis.
This Tuesday, Puente communicated to the Permanent Deputation of the Congress his resignation as a member of the Executive and as the PSOE lead candidate for the elections on November 29, a decision which, as he explained, he adopted last week, right after learning of the Urda rail tragedy (Toledo), in which 69 people lost their lives.
In his final address to the Permanent Deputation, he thus justified his departure: "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in his post with two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year. However different they may be, and whether or not he has direct responsibility for them, it is a matter of political dignity, of consistency and of empathy with the victims".
After his resignation, the current First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, will be in charge of the Transport and Sustainable Mobility portfolio on a temporary basis, until the new Executive is formed that will come out of the general elections of November 29.