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Spain Faces Mounting Pressure Over Blackout and Rail Collapse Investigations

As probes continue into the Iberian blackout and AVE line failure, rival parliamentary commissions and political tensions deepen.

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Overview

  • The PP and PSOE have launched competing parliamentary commissions to investigate the causes and management of the April 28 blackout and May 4 AVE rail collapse.
  • The Government has yet to identify the causes of the blackout, rejecting early hypotheses such as network failure or reserve issues, and pledges to await technical reports.
  • Guardia Civil investigations suggest cable theft—not sabotage—was likely behind the AVE Madrid-Sevilla line collapse, though no conclusions have been finalized.
  • The blackout has reignited debates over Spain's energy policy, with the PP advocating for extending nuclear plant operations, a stance opposed by the Government's Sumar partner.
  • Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces criticism from both opposition and coalition partners over crisis management, further straining his parliamentary support.