The PNV spokesperson in Congress and lead candidate for Guipúzcoa, Maribel Vaquero, has demanded that, once what happened in the Urda (Toledo) railway accident is clarified, in which two high-speed trains collided causing 69 deaths, President Pedro Sánchez assume "maximum political responsibilities", which could translate into "the resignation or dismissal" of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, although without mentioning him directly. "If it is unbearable, he will have to take measures," she stressed.
In a press appearance at the Sabin Etxea headquarters, in Bilbao, alongside the jeltzale candidates for Congress for Bizkaia and Álava, Idoia Sagastizabal and Gorka Urtaran, Vaquero emphasized that this is the second railway accident of "great severity" so far this year. "It never rains but it pours," she stated.
For this reason, she demanded that "all explanations" be offered about what happened and that "technical and political responsibilities at the highest level" be assumed. She recalled that "it is unbearable, those are Sánchez's words too, that accidents of this magnitude occur, and very worrying that they occur in such a short time, when we still have the Adamuz accident in mind".
When asked whether the Minister of Transport should submit his resignation, she replied that "that is something Mr. Sánchez will have to say" after having described as "unbearable" that this type of tragedy be repeated. "He will have to clarify what responsibilities have to be taken," she pointed out.
In any case, she insisted that first what happened must be clarified in detail and, once the causes are known, those "technical and political responsibilities" must be assumed. "If it is unbearable, the President himself will have to decide how far they go," she reiterated.
The spokesperson for the Basque Group in Congress has also acknowledged that "facts of this gravity", such as the Toledo railway accident, "are conditioning" the pre-campaign of the general elections.