Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday, six days after a collision involving two high-speed trains near Urda killed 69 people. The crash was the second major accident on the same line this year, with the two incidents together claiming 115 lives in less than a year, according to the source article.
Puente made the announcement during a session of the Congress of Deputies’ Permanent Deputation, after more than four hours of questioning about information known so far about the Urda accident. Political groups criticised the management of transport infrastructure. While they did not all hold Puente personally responsible for the crash, they argued that his continued presence in office was hindering efforts to restore public confidence in high-speed rail.
The minister had said the previous Friday that he was prepared to lead that recovery. However, members of the governing coalition had called for his resignation. Puente said that neither the prime minister nor his team knew about his decision, despite reports from the Prime Minister’s Office that he had the president’s full support.
The resignation comes as the investigation into the crash continues. Puente also gave up his place as the lead candidate for Valladolid in the November 29 elections. The article describes his departure as an unusual instance in Spain of a senior politician accepting responsibility outside a corruption case, while noting that it does not resolve the wider question of accountability for the accident.
Sources: El País Portada.