Puente, before a Permanent Deputation that will demand explanations and his resignation for the Urda accident

There is no procedure for a Permanent Deputation to legally force a minister to resign. A political request for resignation should not be confused with the power to dismiss. To determine the appropriate parliamentary action, the decisive distinction is whether the Chamber is between sessions or has already been dissolved.

1. The Permanent Deputation does not replace the Plenary

In the Congress, article 57 of the Congress Regulations assigns the Permanent Deputation the function of safeguarding the powers of the Chamber when it is not in session. Between sessions, it can promote extraordinary sessions; after dissolution or expiration of the mandate, it assumes the powers provided regarding royal decrees and states of alarm, exception, and siege.

Article 58 applies the Plenary's rules to its sessions and functioning, but does not transfer all the Plenary's powers to it. Therefore, it is not enough to submit a non-legislative proposal or a motion requesting resignation for the Permanent Deputation to debate and vote on it.

2. If the Chamber is not dissolved

Between ordinary sessions, the channel is to promote a extraordinary session of the competent body, with the matter expressly included in its agenda. The Permanent Deputation decides on the extraordinary call; the control or censure initiative is then processed before the Plenary or the corresponding committee, not automatically before it.

In the Congress, the sequence would be:

• Request the convening of the Permanent Deputation. According to article 56.4, it is convened by the Presidency on its own initiative or at the request of two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of its members.
• Propose the extraordinary session. The matter to be addressed must be identified. Article 61 requires that the request include the agenda.
• Process the initiative before the competent body. A group can submit a non-legislative proposal requesting resignation or dismissal. The Board decides on its admission and processing; then publication, possible amendments, debate, and voting follow, according to articles 193 to 195.

An interpellation—a debate on the Government's or a ministry's policy—and a subsequent motion are also possible. According to article 184, the group must submit that motion the day after the debate. An appearance serves to obtain explanations but does not itself constitute a vote of censure.

3. If the Chamber is already dissolved

The situation changes: it is not possible to reconstruct the ordinary functioning of the Plenary through the Permanent Deputation. Article 57 does not establish an ordinary procedure to process a ministerial censure before it. Therefore, it would be incorrect to describe as available a sequence of appearance, motion, and resignation vote before that body after dissolution.

4. Majorities and effects

In the Congress, agreements of the Permanent Deputation require the attendance of the majority of its members and, unless a special rule applies, a simple majority: more favorable than opposing votes, according to articles 78 and 79. Gathering that majority does not allow approving matters outside its powers.

A censure approved by the competent parliamentary body expresses political rejection and can request resignation or dismissal, but does not produce them. Article 100 of the Constitution provides that ministers shall be "appointed and removed by the King, at the proposal of his President."

The motion of censure is different: it corresponds to the Congress, affects the Government as a whole, and requires one-tenth of the deputies, an alternative candidate, and an absolute majority. It is not a tool of the Permanent Deputation to individually dismiss a minister. The Senate also cannot impose such dismissal nor approve a motion of censure with those effects.

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility directs the Government's policy on transport and infrastructure of state competence and is responsible for managing their department. Their powers combine the general functions of any minister with the sectoral competences of the Ministry; not all technical or operational decisions correspond personally to them.

1. General functions as a member of the Government

Article 4 of the Law 50/1997, of the Government, establishes four functions:

• Develop governmental action in their department, according to the agreements of the Council of Ministers and the president's guidelines.
• Exercise regulatory power in matters pertaining to the Ministry, within the legal framework.
• Exercise the powers attributed by laws and organizational and operational rules.
• Endorse, when appropriate, the acts of the king related to matters within their competence.

This ministerial responsibility does not replace the powers of the Council of Ministers: for example, it is up to the Council to approve bills and royal decrees under the legally established terms.

2. Specific competences in transport and infrastructure

Article 1 of the Royal Decree 253/2024, of March 12, assigns the Ministry the proposal and execution of government policy in the following areas:

• Land, air, and maritime transport infrastructures of state competence, along with the planning and programming of their investments.
• Control, organization, and administrative regulation of the corresponding transport services.
• Sustainable mobility in its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, including active mobility.
• Normative regulation of postal services.
• Promotion and direction of state services of astronomy, geodesy, geophysics, and cartography.

The expressly stated purpose is to guarantee safe and sustainable mobility, based on social justice criteria. The exercise of these competences must be coordinated with the powers of other ministries.

3. Direction, planning, and sectoral decisions

The minister exercises the superior direction of the department. The State Secretariat for Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Undersecretariat depend directly on them. The former develops, under their direction, strategic planning, investment programming, transport regulation, and coordination of attached bodies.

Therefore, it is advisable to distinguish between directing policy and resolving each file. The royal decree assigns specific functions to the State Secretariat such as determining minimum services in its scope, authorizing certain airport modifications, or coordinating infrastructure execution.

Other decisions are elevated to the minister: the regulation contemplates the proposal for authorization to establish and classify civil airports and the proposal of master plans for airports of general interest and air navigation.

4. International coordination, emergencies, and limits

The unit responsible for coordinating the department's international relations, especially with the European Union, in collaboration with Foreign Affairs, depends directly on the minister.

In emergencies, Royal Decree 690/2025 strengthened supervision, prevention, crisis coordination, and victim assistance through an observatory dependent on the State Secretariat. That coordination does not equate to assuming all operational management.

Likewise, Royal Decree 141/2026 approved the statute of the independent authority for technical investigation of railway, maritime, and civil aviation accidents. In short, political responsibility, administrative management, and technical investigation are distinct levels; ministerial competences do not automatically cover regional or local transport.

In the last general elections held, those of July 23, 2023, the PSOE obtained 7,821,718 votes, 31.68%, and 121 seats, according to the definitive results balance published by Demócrata. The reference figure for its representation is, therefore, 121 deputies, although when speaking of how many it "currently" has, one must distinguish that representation of the outgoing legislature from the functioning of the Congress during the electoral period.

What result it obtained at the polls

The socialist result in the 2023 general elections is summarized in these four data points:

• Votes: 7,821,718 ballots.
• Percentage: 31.68% of valid votes, usually rounded to 31.7%.
• Seats: 121 representatives in the Congress.
• Position: second candidacy nationwide, behind the PP.

These figures include the PSC and associated candidacies integrated into the socialist total. It is important to use the definitive result and not mix it with provisional data from election night: Demócrata's balance explicitly specifies this criterion when comparing different calls. (Definitive PSOE results).

How many deputies correspond to the PSOE

The socialist representation of the outgoing legislature reached 121 deputies. Although it coincides with the number of seats obtained in the elections, it was not identical throughout the legislature: there was a period when the Socialist Group had 120 members. (Recovery of the socialist deputy).

The difference is explained by José Luis Ábalos's departure from the Socialist Group and his incorporation into the Mixed Group. After his resignation from the seat and the incorporation of his substitute, the PSOE again totaled 121 deputies, according to information published on February 10, 2026. Therefore, an earlier news item mentioning 120 can correctly describe that moment without contradicting the later figure. (Substitutions in the Congress).

However, with elections called for November 29, 2026, it is advisable to present the 121 as the socialist representation of the outgoing legislature, and not confuse it with the members of the Permanent Deputation. Nor is it a result of the 29N: that vote has not yet taken place. (Candidacies for 29N).

How it compares with the previous election

Compared to the November 10, 2019 general elections, the PSOE went from 120 to 121 seats and gained 1,029,519 votes. Its percentage increased from 28.00% to 31.68%. Consequently, it improved both in support and representation compared to that call, although it finished in second place in 2023. (Comparison between calls).

The practical answer is, therefore: 121 seats obtained in the last general elections and 121 as the socialist reference representation of the outgoing legislature. Different figures that may appear in polls are not deputies gained or lost: they are estimates about a future election, not changes in the 2023 result.