The minister who has not listened asks that we listen to him

I hear Minister Puente's explanations and, as much as they might interest me, I cannot help but receive them as a distant litany that neither informs me nor, even less, comforts me. Because the damage is already done. Because there have already been 116 deaths on Spanish trains this year. Because since his first reaction of pointing the finger at the control center operator only hours after the accident (an accusation reinforced at night with the leaking of the audios), the minister can keep giving data, but I only hear excuses with which he tries to shed as much responsibility as he can.

Puente's drama is having been a minister who has turned political communication into the ridicule of the adversary, and now, in moments of crisis communication, he cannot expect much compassion from public opinion. Puente is the minister who in the summer of 2024 said that “the train in Spain is experiencing the best moment in its history”, while the Rodalies service was harming the lives of thousands of users in our country every day. Puente is the continuator of the delusions of grandeur of the PP and PSOE governments regarding high-speed rail, which have confused quantity (come on, thousands of kilometers; come on, millions of passengers) with quality of service. The minister asks that we listen to his reasons when he has never listened to the people's discomfort. That Pedro Sánchez maintains confidence in the minister, when the president himself admits that trust in the rail service has collapsed, is inexplicable for a president with such a keen nose for sniffing out moods.

Once again, it must be a brutal accident that reminds us of the pedagogical dimension that politics has. And the need to relate to others with respect. Because when the norm is disregard, what collective reflection can you summon the people to?