The Partido Popular (PP) maintains that the resignation of the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, "doesn't stick" because, in its view, he has not left the post "for the victims or for dignity" but "for the polls". In addition, it directs its criticism at the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for having appointed him to the position: "His responsibility has not yet been cleared, but we will resign him in the ballot boxes."
"Tezanos has resigned him," PP sources said after it became known that the minister decided to leave the Ministry and resign from the PSOE lists on 29N, after the rail incidents in Adamuz (Córdoba) and last Wednesday in Urda (Toledo), which have caused a total of 116 deaths.
Along these lines, the 'populares' point directly at Sánchez, emphasizing that "the main problem" lies in "who put the infrastructure in the hands of Ábalos, first, [referring to the former Transport minister] and of Puente, afterwards". "Responsibility is not delegated," they stressed, to warn the head of the Executive that "he cannot hide behind Óscar Puente."
The PP goes further and maintains that neither Puente's departure nor the eventual departure of Sánchez -- "after the 29N" -- will make "forget what is most important", that is, "what has happened and what needs to be done to recover the security lost" in the rail network. In their view, "116 dead demand truth, explanations, and responsibilities at the highest level."
In this context, they insist that "the crisis" will only "be closed" when there are "sufficient explanations, complete responsibilities, and guarantees that a similar situation will not happen again."
The resignation, communicated by Puente this Tuesday before the Standing Committee of the Congress and including his departure from the PSOE lists on 29N, occurs six days after the Urda (Toledo) rail accident, with 69 fatalities, and nine months after the Adamuz (Córdoba) incident, in which 46 travelers died.
Reactions from the leadership of the Partido Popular
PP leaders have reacted in succession to the resignation announced by the head of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, emphasizing that it is not "an act of dignity" and reiterating that it arrives "late".
In similar terms, the general secretary of the PP, Miguel Tellado, has also spoken, who has said that the resignation "is not sufficient" and has also held President Pedro Sánchez responsible for appointing him in place of José Luis Ábalos --"today in prison"--, and then for describing the now former minister as a "combative tweeter" in a message published on 'X', collected by Europa Press.
For his part, the 'popular' spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, stated this Tuesday night in Congress that Óscar Puente's resignation as Minister of Transport "arrives 116 dead too late", referring to the victims of the two railway accidents recorded in the past year.
In her address, the PP leader again demanded Puente's resignation, although she specified that it was already a late decision and that, in any case, it could not be considered sufficient.
"It is a confession of guilt," the PP's deputy secretary of Finance, Juan Bravo, has said, who also pointed out on 'X' the responsibility of "who appointed him and allowed him to continue in his post", referring to the head of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. In this regard, he has insisted that Puente "doesn't dare to sell it" as an "act of dignity" but as a "resignation that arrives 116 lives too late".
The PP's Interior spokesperson, Ana Vázquez, has attributed the decision to "resign" to the minister "at the last minute of the Standing Committee" of Congress, a forum before which Puente announced his departure after several hours of appearing regarding the Urda (Toledo) railway accident, in which 69 people died last Wednesday.