Spain’s political campaign, just beginning to stir back to life after the Urda train tragedy, was jolted again this week by a new seismic shock: the revelation that Adif, the national railway infrastructure manager, renewed its executive bonus plan just one week after the disaster.
Adif’s Boardroom Timing Ignites Political Firestorm
The renewed plan of incentives for Adif’s committee, approved on Wednesday, November 3, has been branded as an act of profound insensitivity by the main opposition parties. While the nation was still reeling from the accident in Urda (Toledo), the public entity’s leadership was focused on securing lucrative performance bonuses for its top brass. “While Spain is still recovering from the terrible accident in Urda, Adif is busy with other things,” wrote Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the PP, in a post on social media.
The controversy centers on a document approved by now-former Adif President Pedro Marco de la Peña, who resigned hours after the plan’s approval was made public. The plan, a continuation of one from the 2021-2025 period, links the variable compensation of the company’s directors to operational, investment, and service performance objectives.
Opposition Leaders Launch Scathing Rhetoric
The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, delivered one of the harshest critiques during a campaign rally in Guadalajara this Saturday. “What was the objective of Adif? What was the objective of Pedro Sánchez’s cronies?” Abascal asked, his voice heavy with accusation. “Why doesn’t Pedro Sánchez resign when he sees that everyone he has appointed is lining their pockets? In the middle of the massacre, in the middle of the dead.”
Abascal went further, suggesting the former Adif president secured the bonuses just before stepping down. “He made sure to get the bonuses for the Adif directors signed before he resigned,” the Vox leader claimed. Abascal also questioned whether the goal of the Adif leadership was to “destroy the high-speed rail” or “kill more than 100 Spaniards,” suggesting the alternative was “enrichment.”
The PP’s Feijóo, speaking in Valladolid, responded with a promise of legal consequences. “If the money for train security has ended up in the PSOE or in the pocket of one of their own, it will not be enough for them to leave; they will have to answer before the Justice,” Feijóo declared. “And if they have stolen the money destined to protect the lives of Spaniards, they will have to leave power to go to jail.”
Adif Defends Bonus as a Standard Tool
Adif’s defense, as outlined in the official agreement with the Ministry of Finance, is that the plan is a standard tool to “incentivize and promote the achievement of the objectives” of its governing convention. The company argues the plan is a coordinated effort with other entities under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, designed to ensure efficient management of public infrastructure.
Scandal Refrozen Political Campaign After Urda
The scandal has effectively refrozen the political campaign, which had only just begun to resume after being interrupted following the Urda crash.
“We are not in this city because of what happened with the trains. If it were to point out the maximum responsible person, we would not be in Valladolid, we would be holding a rally in front of the La Moncloa Palace,” Feijóo stated, directly implicating Sánchez’s administration. The political battle lines are now drawn, with the opposition attempting to link the Adif bonus controversy directly to the government’s handling of the Urda disaster.
