The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, leaves open the possibility of competing in the future for the General Secretariat of the PSOE when Pedro Sánchez concludes his time at the head of the party, something he estimates will happen in four or five years, once the next legislature is completed.
Although he admits that he does not identify as the ideal profile to lead the organization, he does not completely exclude himself and values that, when the time comes and depending on the internal context, the membership may look to him, as he has explained in an interview with Europa Press.
"I don't think I am that player, I don't think I have to play the last ball, making a basketball analogy. I also say that if it came to me, with two seconds left and I had to take the shot, I am not one to pass it," he has assured.
Sánchez, the "Jordan" of the PSOE and horizon 2031
In any case, he emphasizes that Pedro Sánchez is "the best possible leader" and that the socialists must "last," convinced that the PSOE will revalidate the Government after the general elections scheduled for 2027. "He is the (Michael) Jordan of the team" and, continuing with the sports comparison, he maintains that he must assume that role while the rest dedicate themselves to "helping and pushing a lot."
"The party has the best possible leader, which is Pedro Sánchez, and the proof of this is that, if he were not, he would not be the target of all the attacks from the right," he pointed out.
He recalls that Sánchez has not publicly announced his retirement from politics, although he has set the goal of staying in La Moncloa until 2031. Puente believes that then the succession process will open. "I am convinced that it would very likely be his last term, for even personal reasons," he stated, leaving in the air the scenario that may arise in "four or five years."
Excludes returning to the mayoralty of Valladolid
In parallel, the minister has quite accepted that he will not run again as a candidate for the Mayor of Valladolid, despite acknowledging that at times he imagines returning to municipal politics. "It is not easy for me to be a candidate for the mayoralty, my life has taken another direction," he says.
"Have I ruled it out 100%? Well, there are many days when nostalgia and longing hit me and I say let's go for it, but I also think that at this moment I play on another side of the field and probably the team needs me for other things," he reflects.
Complete the legislature and avoid an early election
On what remains of the mandate, Puente defends that the objective of the Government is to push forward the General State Budgets (PGE), denies that the extension of the Almaraz nuclear power plant will cause a break with Sumar, and bets on completing the legislature until after the regional and municipal elections in May 2027.
"Legislatures must be exhausted," says the minister, who considers it "beneficial for the Government's narrative" to reach the last day, against the opposition's desire to force an advance and for the Executive to go to the polls "already fed up with all the situations" being experienced.
He insists that they must claim the results of the eight years of coalition government and avoid transmitting the image that they feel "obliged" to call elections. "Let’s exhaust the mandate and go to elections where what is contrasted are models, not conjuncture or circumstances," he insists.
He positions himself in favor of holding the general elections after the municipal and regional ones —taking into account that Sánchez has already ruled out a 'super Sunday' election— despite the harsh setback suffered four years ago in various regional executives and municipalities.
2023 Regional and Municipal Elections and the "let Txapote vote for you"
Puente, who lost the mayoralty of Valladolid in the 2023 elections despite winning in votes, exempts Sánchez from direct responsibility for that result. "If it depended on me, I am very clear," he states, leaning towards repeating general elections in July, in the middle of summer.
He believes that the regional and municipal elections on May 28, 2023, "were very poorly focused" and that messages like "let Txapote vote for you" were allowed to take hold, which attacked the Government for its agreements with Bildu and Catalan independence.
Despite the reluctance of some socialist officials, who fear a new defeat in 2027, he is confident that the PSOE can reach that date "in good conditions, as long as good prior work is done" which in 2023 "probably was not done or was reacted to late." "Although that at least served to preserve the Government of Spain," he points out.
Criticism of the Supreme Court and Puigdemont's Return
In relation to the PGE, he states that "while there is life, there is hope" and reiterates that the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, should return to Spain "as soon as possible" after having benefited from the Amnesty Law.
"I hope he does it with all the favorable pronouncements so that the sovereign decision of the Spanish Parliament can be reflected in a reality," because so far what has been seen is "an act of rebellion by the Supreme Court trying to correct the legislator" and "preventing" the law from being effective in practice. "This is what we are living," he complains.
"I hope and wish that he returns as soon as possible and that this closes a chapter of our history and we make another one much brighter than the one we close," he has pointed out.
Rufián and the space to the left of the PSOE
Regarding the option that the current spokesperson for ERC in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, leads in the future the political space to the left of the PSOE, Puente believes that he is a leader "very of this time," who has managed to make a place for himself in the social media society and in the "cultural battle," although he sees it complicated for that scenario to materialize. "On paper, he is a good candidate, but we have to go from the muses to the theater, from theory to practice and I fear that is not going to be easy," he warns.
Clash with Sumar over Almaraz and stability of the coalition
Finally, he downplays the disagreement between PSOE and Sumar over the extension of the Almaraz nuclear power plant until 2030, a decision highly questioned by Yolanda Díaz's party.
In this regard, he emphasizes that the government's commitment to renewable energies is "firm" and that the extension of Almaraz's useful life is "limited to 2030" and does not imply a shift in the energy strategy of the coalition government.
From Sumar, they accused the PSOE of violating the coalition agreement signed at the beginning of the legislature, but Puente attributes the tension to the approach of the electoral cycle. "I don't give it much importance, I believe that the relationship in the government between PSOE and Sumar is good and that it will remain so until the end," he has concluded.