Sánchez rejected Puente's resignation after the Urda (Toledo) train accident

In Spain, Parliament does not directly dismiss a minister nor does it have to approve their resignation. The individual separation from office corresponds to the King, at the proposal of the president of the Government. The Chambers can demand explanations and censure their actions, but the procedures that withdraw parliamentary confidence affect the Government as a whole, not an isolated minister.

1. Individual dismissal or resignation

The basic rule is in article 100 of the Constitution: the appointment and separation of ministers are carried out by the King at the proposal of the president of the Government. Constitutional jurisprudence confirms that it is up to the president to choose the members of his Executive (STC 136/2011).

• If the president decides to dismiss him: he proposes his separation to the King. He does not need a prior vote from the Congress or the Senate nor to demonstrate an infraction to withdraw his political confidence.
• If the minister resigns: he communicates his resignation to the president. The departure must be formalized through the constitutional procedure of separation from office; publicly announcing it does not replace that formalization.
• To replace him: the president proposes the appointment of another person. Parliament does not hold an individual investiture of the new minister.

Therefore, the political initiative — dismissal or resignation — must be distinguished from the formal act that makes the departure effective.

2. Parliamentary censure: pressure, not dismissal

The Congress can express its rejection of a minister's management through a non-legislative proposal or a motion following an interpellation. These are political resolutions: their approval does not legally oblige the minister to resign nor the president to dismiss him.

The process consists of presenting the initiative, obtaining its admission by the Board, including it in the agenda, debating the proposals and amendments, and voting on it. If it derives from an interpellation, the corresponding group must present the motion the day after its debate. These procedures are set out in articles 184 and 193–195 of the Congress Regulations.

3. Motion of no confidence: against the entire Government

There is no constitutional motion of no confidence directed solely against a minister. The one regulated in articles 175–179 of the Regulations requires:

• A reasoned document signed by at least one tenth of the Congress, with an alternative candidacy for the Presidency that has accepted to be proposed.
• Admission by the Board; during the following two days alternative motions may be presented.
• Debate and vote, which cannot be held before five days have passed since the presentation.
• Absolute majority to approve it. If it succeeds, the alternative candidacy obtains the confidence of the Congress and the Government is replaced, not just the questioned minister.

4. Vote of confidence and other controls

Only the president, after deliberation of the Council of Ministers, can raise a vote of confidence on his program or a declaration of general policy. It is presented in writing to the Board and cannot be voted on before twenty-four hours. It requires a simple majority; losing it implies the resignation of the Government, not an individual ministerial dismissal.

Additionally, both Chambers can formulate questions and interpellations, request documentation, and call for appearances. Investigation committees allow clarifying facts and approving conclusions, but these do not dismiss ministers nor bind the courts.

The Senate controls, but does not withdraw confidence from the Government. This difference between control and parliamentary confidence is reflected in STC 124/2018. In short: a censure can promote a political exit; individual dismissal requires the intervention of the president and the King.

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility leads the Government's policy on transport and state-competent infrastructures and heads the administrative organization of the department. His powers combine the general functions of any minister with those specific to the sector. It is advisable to distinguish his responsibility for direction from the management assigned by regulations to the secretariats of State, general directorates, and attached entities.

1. Political direction and regulatory authority

Article 4 of Law 50/1997, of the Government establishes that ministers have "competence and responsibility in the specific sphere of their action." The holder of Transport is responsible for:

• Developing governmental action in his department, following the agreements of the Council of Ministers and the guidelines of the president.
• Exercising regulatory authority in matters pertaining to the ministry, within legal limits.
• Exercising other powers attributed by laws and organizational norms.
• Endorsing, when appropriate, the acts of the King related to his powers.

This does not mean he can approve any regulation alone: the approval of draft laws, royal decree-laws, and regulations corresponding to the Council of Ministers belongs to this collegiate body, according to article 5 of that law.

2. Transport, infrastructures, and mobility

Article 1 of 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 infrastructures of state competence, along with the planning and programming of their investments.
• Control, organization, and administrative regulation of the corresponding transport services.
• Promotion of 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." Therefore, its powers are not limited to building infrastructures: they also cover services, investments, and mobility objectives.

3. Administrative and economic management

Law 40/2015, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, includes ministerial management functions. Among them are entering into contracts and agreements within their competence, authorizing budget modifications, deciding ministerial representation in collegiate bodies or working groups, accounting for the department before the Court of Auditors, and resolving administrative appeals that correspond to him.

These powers must be understood according to the legal distribution of functions: not all contracts, expenses, or appeals require a personal decision by the minister.

4. Organization, coordination, and limits

The minister directly oversees the Secretariat of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Undersecretariat. The former develops, under his direction, the planning and execution of infrastructure and transport policies, investment programming, and coordination of attached bodies. This distribution avoids confusing ministerial direction with daily execution.

The organization is based on Royal Decree 1009/2023 and is developed through Royal Decree 253/2024, amended by Royal Decree 690/2025. Additionally, a unit directly dependent on the minister coordinates the department's international relations, especially with the European Union, in collaboration with Foreign Affairs.

Finally, the royal decree requires acting without prejudice to the powers of other ministries. The described scope is state-level: it does not make the minister responsible for all regional or local transport and infrastructures.

In the last general elections held on July 23, 2023, the PSOE obtained 7,821,718 votes and 121 seats. Its percentage was approximately 31.7% and it came in second place, behind the PP. The 121 seats are the socialist representation resulting from those elections; when talking about how many deputies it "currently" has, it is advisable to distinguish that figure from the situation of a dissolved Chamber before new elections.

The PSOE electoral result

The final balance of 23J, including the PSC and associated candidacies that make up the total socialist vote, was as follows:

• Votes: 7,821,718 ballots.
• Percentage: 31.68%, according to the compilation of definitive results published by Demócrata; rounded to one decimal, 31.7%.
• Seats: 121 deputies in Congress.
• Position: second force in the elections to Congress.

These figures correspond to the definitive result, not an estimate from a poll nor the provisional count on election night. The compilation also specifies that the total includes territorial socialist candidacies, an important clarification for comparing data that may appear separated by acronyms. (PSOE historical results).

How it changed compared to previous elections

In the general elections of November 10, 2019, the PSOE had obtained 6,792,199 votes, 28.00%, and 120 seats. Therefore, in July 2023 it gained 1,029,519 votes and one deputy compared to the immediately previous call. Its percentage increased by 3.68 points, taking as reference the 31.68% of the cited compilation. (Comparison between calls).

The comparison with April 2019 is different: then it had achieved 123 seats. In 2023 it gathered 308,576 more votes than in that call but obtained two fewer deputies. Thus, the PSOE's maximum votes with Pedro Sánchez as candidate did not coincide with its maximum parliamentary representation. (Votes and representation).

What the current number of deputies means

The figure to be used to describe the socialist representation resulting from 23J is 121 seats. Changes of persons during a legislature should not be confused with an equivalent loss of representation: a resignation may be followed by the incorporation of another person from the candidacy.

For example, during the legislature Meritxell Batet was replaced by Ignasi Conesa and Carmen Calvo by Olvido de la Rosa. These are changes in who occupies the seat, not results of new elections. Demócrata documented these and other replacements in its balance of renewal of Congress. (Replacements in Congress).

However, with the elections of November 29, 2026 called and the Cortes dissolved, it is not necessary to present those 121 as deputies who continue exercising all their ordinary functions. The figure describes the representation obtained for the legislature prior to the new call; institutional continuity during dissolution corresponds to the Permanent Deputation.

In short: the PSOE obtained 7,821,718 votes, around 31.7%, and 121 seats in the last general elections. That is the reference electoral data, and it should not be replaced by figures projected by polls for the next call.