By David Latona and Victoria Waldersee
MADRID, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday his deputy, Carlos Cuerpo, would provisionally run the Transport Ministry after Oscar Puente’s resignation over two deadly high-speed train crashes this year.
Puente’s move six days after this year’s second traumatic rail accident has left the ruling Socialists fighting an election campaign without one of their most combative, but also polarising, voices.
In a brief televised address, Sanchez praised Puente for his political dignity, saying his decision helped the country regain confidence in the rail system.
Announcing his replacement by Cuerpo, who is also Spain’s economy minister, Sanchez said: “Cuerpo has shown in this legislature an enormous capacity for management and integrity.”
Puente surprised lawmakers by quietly announcing he was stepping down on Tuesday night following a tense four-hour grilling by lawmakers from a caretaker parliament body, in which most parties demanded he face responsibility for the two rail disasters that have killed 115 people combined.
Independent political analyst Eduardo Bayon said Puente’s resignation deprived the opposition People’s Party (PP) of its main target, forcing a shift in the conversation from arguing over who should go to what should be done.
“The government needs to fill that void with concrete railway security and investment measures — trust in high-speed rail will remain a campaign topic,” Bayon added.
‘WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME’
One of Sanchez’s most loyal and high-profile ministers, Puente had previously vowed to stay on to tackle the investigation into last week’s crash and fix the system’s flaws, despite widespread calls for his exit from both the opposition and coalition partners.
But on Tuesday, the 57-year-old minister revealed he had in fact already made his decision in the immediate aftermath of the train crash in central Spain’s Urda, only telling his family while keeping even Sanchez in the dark.
“Politicians like (Puente) bring honour to our country and show us that we are not all the same. Whilst some merely preach, others give their all,” Sanchez said after Puente’s announcement.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo responded to Sanchez’s post on X lauding Puente for stepping aside by saying the prime minister should do the same. “Apply this to yourself,” he wrote.
‘ATTACK DOG’
Puente’s resignation will only become effective once it is published in the official state gazette. He also said he would not stand as a candidate in the upcoming November 29 election.
Polls run following last Wednesday’s deadly crash showed a slight drop in support for the ruling Socialists, who had hoped to fight this election campaign on their ability to uphold social services and revert a housing crisis.
A lawyer as well as a former mayor and stage actor, Puente took on the transport post in November 2023, overseeing the expansion of Spain’s rail network and rollout of investments supported in part by EU recovery funds.
The minister has for years been heavily criticised by unions and opposition parties for underinvestment in maintenance and increased disruptions, culminating in a Senate motion demanding his resignation in February after a fatal crash on the same Madrid-Seville line where last Wednesday’s collision occurred.
Dubbed Sanchez’s “attack dog” by media commentators, he frequently traded barbs with rivals on X or in parliament with a pugnacious style that led him to become a top contender in discussions over Sanchez’s eventual succession.
(Reporting by David Latona and Victoria Waldersee; Editing by William Maclean)
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