The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has communicated this Tuesday in the Standing Committee of the Congress that he is leaving his post in the Government and is also abandoning his candidacy for the PSOE in the elections of November 29. As he has explained, he made this decision last week, as soon as he became aware of the railway accident in Urda (Toledo), in which 69 people died.
At the end of his appearance, he has underscored that "A transport minister from a country like Spain cannot continue in his position with two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year. No matter how different they may be, and whether or not he has direct responsibility in them, it is a matter of political dignity, of consistency, and of empathy with the victims."
Puente has specified that his resignation affects both the Ministry and his presence on the PSOE lists for the elections on November 29. "I will therefore not be the head of the list to the Congress of Deputies for Valladolid," he has said.
Decision made after the tragedy of Urda
Until now, in his previous appearances he had sidestepped demands for him to resign, but this Tuesday he has revealed that he had already made the decision when the Urda accident occurred, the second in Spanish high-speed rail this year after the accident in Adamuz. The first to know his intention, he has said, were his family members.
"I made the decision about my future during the first minutes in which the tragedy took place (...) a Transport Minister of a country like Spain cannot continue in his position with two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year," he has reiterated before the members of the Standing Committee.
Once his appearance had concluded, he has added that he informed the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, of his decision "a few minutes ago".
"Political dignity", "consistency" and support for the victims
Puente has insisted that he is resigning for "political dignity, consistency, and empathy with the victims", and has justified that he waited until this Wednesday to make it public because he understood that he had to announce it at the "headquarters of national sovereignty" and only after completing what he considered his "most urgent and unavoidable" task.
This task, he has detailed, involved offering explanations about what had happened, attending to the victims, putting into operation the first measures of compensation, and strengthening "to the extent possible" the safety of the rail system in the short term. "This, without a doubt, was not the only decision that could be made, but it is the only one that I would have been willing to take," he has said.
Next, he expressed his gratitude to all the people who have conveyed their support for him in these days and he wanted to emphasize that his departure "is no drama." "Drama, without a doubt, is that of the victims, of their families, of their loved ones whom they are no longer going to be able to see again," he stressed.
"Guilt cannot die a spinster"
The head of Transport also addressed the victims to underline that, after their pain, none is "as great" as his. At this point, he recalled the words of former Portuguese minister Jorge Coelho, who left office in 2001 after the collapse of a bridge in which 59 people died: "Guilt cannot die a spinster."
Along these lines, Puente has defended that his resignation "is good for the country and good for democracy" and he has claimed that Spain is a country "strong, prosperous and modern, not a failed state like some people claim."
To conclude, he has assured that he believes his decision is "up to the standard" of his party and he has taken the opportunity to issue a final warning ahead of the general election on 29 November, by stating that an Executive led by the PP would be "disastrous" for the future of the country. "I trust that my country will know how to live up to expectations. Today I have tried to live up to my country’s expectations. Thank you all for your attention and goodbye forever," he concluded.