The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, estimated this Sunday that “a significant part” of the 218 deaths caused by DANA in Valencia were “avoidable”, “with a little more prudence, anticipation and caution“.
In an interview given to The avant-gardePuente recognizes that the Government weighed for 48 hours the possibility of declaring the National Emergency, to assume sole command in the face of the recorded disaster, before the “signs of confusion” issued by the Generalitat Valenciana.
“This could be understood as something reasonable, given the scale of the disaster,” said the minister, who recognizes that this measure would have had an effect.very positive for us, for the Government, for the gallery“.
“There are many people who like gestures Military Man“, he comments, in which “The government bangs its fist on the table“.
However, he explains, after the first hours, this scenario was ruled out: “It was going to be counterproductive because the Administration which knows the territory best is the Regional Administration”.
Óscar Puente describes the PP’s criticism of the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, as “petty”, and warns that the People’s Party’s veto of her election as vice-president of the European Commission endangers the weight of Spain in the new Union government.
In the interview, the Minister of Transport once again links the aid and investments necessary for the reconstruction of Valencia to the approval of the 2025 general budgets, as President Pedro Sánchez initially did.
“Pretending that the reconstruction of Valencia is not linked to the budgetary scenario It’s very childish and irresponsible” said Puente, “what head does it fit into?. We cannot call for a national emergency, as the PP does, and at the same time deny the link between this situation and the approval of the budget (…) everything will be linked. “It’s a country issue.”
However, the first obstacle the government faces in approving budgets is the lack of understanding with its partners in the investiture pact.
Puente believes that the agreement will be possible with “a little generosity and a little foresight. And also an exercise in political realism, which is sometimes lacking.” The minister is optimistic and believes that it will be possible to “reconcile positions” between the parliamentary partners of the Executive: “A little resignation from everyone, a little nobility from everyonecan lead us to success.”
For now, the PSOE has been forced to postpone until Monday the Congressional Finance Commission, which was to be held last Thursday, due to the lack of support from its partners to approve the tax reform designed by the government.
