"Moral misery is total": end of the political truce after the Adamuz accident

MadridThe People's Party (PP) is beginning to move beyond the political calm that had prevailed since the Adamuz train accident and is abandoning the previous silence on the issue. Last night, the PP held a press conference at party headquarters to assess the situation and began to raise its voice against the Spanish government. "Prudence and a broad perspective are compatible with the concern and the need for answers from an overwhelmed government," explained Juan Bravo. The party's deputy secretary for infrastructure took the opportunity to criticize the "lack of transparency," the "improvised decisions," and the "lack of foresight" of the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's office), and to denounce that the Spanish government "has exacerbated the public's sense of vulnerability, insecurity, and distrust." Later, the PP's secretary general, Miguel Tellado, accused Pedro Sánchez of being "missing" since Monday: "This isn't politicizing, it's a fact." Far from the growing political squabble, the good relationship between the Andalusian and Spanish governments continues: this afternoon, the two presidents, Juanma Moreno and Pedro Sánchez, agreed that the state tribute The victims will be honored on Saturday, January 31st in Huelva.

While there is complicity in Córdoba, in Madrid the Popular Party believes that Moncloa has focused on crafting an "exculpatory narrative" instead of informing the public and is demanding explanations directly from the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. From the party headquarters on Génova Street, they acknowledge that they had initially planned to maintain a "lower profile" during the three days of official mourning they were prepared to observe, but the "chain of events"—the speed limit of a section of the Barcelona-Madrid match, the commuter train accident in Gelida and the general strike The fact that the train drivers have called a strike has forced them to "update" their communications strategy. Five hours later, in a lengthy press conference with no limit on questions, Puente responded to the PP's complaints: "You be the judge of whether we are not providing information. I will intervene as little as possible, I will resolve this, and I will rectify the situation as soon as possible." The minister pledged to "continue making public appearances" and announced that both he and the presidents of Renfe and Adif would appear before the Congress of Deputies.

Early in the morning, the first incendiary voices against the Spanish government had emerged. "The collapse is total, the moral depravity as well," denounced the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, reacting to remarks by Minister Puente in which he said that the strike was related to the "emotional state" of the train drivers. "The emotional state of risking their lives every day at work due to the poor condition of the tracks," added Juan Bravo. And former Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre openly called for Puente's resignation, a step the PP has yet to take: "He's taking his time resigning; he'll regret not having done so on day one," she said in a tweet.

Ayuso's spokesperson blames the Spanish government

The spokesperson for the Madrid regional government, Miguel Ángel García, also didn't mince words: "The chaos in the management of the railway system has cost the lives of 42 people," he lamented. "We've said what we've said," sources from the PP headquarters in Madrid countered shortly afterward, avoiding making any assessment. However, with microphones off, they hinted at where the PP might direct its criticism in the coming days: "If neither the driver nor the train failed, then the track failed. And if the track failed, then the Spanish government failed." The words of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's right-hand man are comparable to those spoken by Santiago Abascal earlier in the day. The Vox leader—whose party was the only one that didn't cancel its schedule and held its usual Monday press conference—directly blamed the Spanish government for the accident: "Corruption kills."

Late yesterday, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo—a frequent suspect—began to raise her voice, stating on social media that the Spanish government had turned the Ministry of Transport into a "farmhouse of commissions, shady deals, and corruption" and an "instrument of insults," she noted. "They got Koldo a job at Renfe and prostitutes at Adif," she added.

One issue that has generated concern on both sides of the political spectrum is the speed limit on part of the route between Barcelona and Madrid. "Whose hands are we in?" asked Ester Muñoz. And the Podemos spokesperson, Pablo Fernández, also demanded that the Spanish government explain the decision "urgently and in detail" to avoid generating "enormous distrust" among users.