Spain's Transport Minister Resigns Days After a Train Crash Killed 69, Breitbart Reports, Weeks Before a Snap Election
Breitbart says Oscar Puente announced his resignation in the last minutes of a four-hour parliamentary hearing on the Urda crash, citing 'political dignity.' A replacement is expected Wednesday and a snap election is set for Nov. 29.
Spain's transport minister has resigned after a deadly high-speed train crash, Breitbart reports.
What happened. Minister Oscar Puente told the Spanish Congress on Tuesday he was stepping down, almost a week after a train accident in Urda, in Toledo province, killed 69 people. Breitbart says Spanish outlet El Español reported he spent about four hours at the hearing rebutting resignation calls from lawmakers of the Vox party and the center-right People's Party, then announced his resignation in the final minutes, around 9:08 p.m. local time.
His reasons. Puente called it an act of "political dignity." He said a transport minister "cannot remain in office after two accidents of this severity in less than a year, no matter how different they may be or whether or not I bear direct responsibility for them." The other accident was in January and killed 46. He said he decided "within the first minutes" after Urda but waited until early investigations had begun. Breitbart, citing the BBC, says allies in the ruling Socialist Workers' Party also called for his resignation during the hearing.
The election. Puente is also withdrawing from the Socialists' Valladolid list for the snap general election on Nov. 29, local outlets report. Equality Minister Ana Redondo is expected to take his place on the list, though his name will still appear on the printed ballots. A new transport minister is reportedly due to be named Wednesday.
The reaction. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised him on social media: "Oscar Puente stood up, offered solutions, and then stepped aside. Out of dignity. Of his own free will."
The politics. Breitbart cites a poll published last week suggesting the crash has hurt Sanchez's chances and that a People's Party and Vox coalition could win an absolute majority. That is one poll and the vote is weeks away.
What we could not check. We read Breitbart's summary of the Spanish and BBC reporting, not those reports. We do not know the cause of the crash, and the investigation is ongoing.