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'I can't go on anymore' Mazón resigns as Valencia president over handling of deadly 2024 floods
Resigning his post, Mazón said “I can’t go on anymore” as he lamented “brutal” criticism he faced, while “acknowledging” mistakes made in an “unprecedented” situation.
He also repeatedly attacked the central government for not offering enough support to the flood-hit region.
But acknowledging his mistakes, he said, in comments reported by El País:
“I hope that when the noise dies down a bit, society will be able to distinguish between a man who has made a mistake and a bad person.”
He also did not say if he was calling a snap election or quitting his seat in the regional assembly, which would end his parliamentary immunity, Reuters noted.
Expect more questions on this and the practical consequences of “what’s next” to be raised on this during the day, as we hear the evidence from Maribel Vilaplana, the journalist with whom he was eating lunch on the day of the floods, testifying before a judge investigating authorities’ criminal liability for the deaths.
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We are getting some further lines from Mazón’s statement earlier today, where he said:
“I should have had the political vision to cancel my appointments and visit” the affected areas on the day of the disaster, Mazón said.
“I know I made mistakes. I acknowledge them and I will live with them all my life,” he added.
“I have asked for forgiveness, and today I repeat it again. But none of them were due to political calculation or bad faith.”
El País is reporting that after his resignation, Mazón intends to take a few days off, quoting a medical reason.
Valencia leader Mazón's resignation speech - in pictures
For more on the anger towards Mazón and the calls for consequences after Spain’s worst natural disaster this century, it’s worth reading this report from our Spain correspondent, Sam Jones.
'I can't go on anymore' Mazón resigns as Valencia president over handling of deadly 2024 floods
Resigning his post, Mazón said “I can’t go on anymore” as he lamented “brutal” criticism he faced, while “acknowledging” mistakes made in an “unprecedented” situation.
He also repeatedly attacked the central government for not offering enough support to the flood-hit region.
But acknowledging his mistakes, he said, in comments reported by El País:
“I hope that when the noise dies down a bit, society will be able to distinguish between a man who has made a mistake and a bad person.”
He also did not say if he was calling a snap election or quitting his seat in the regional assembly, which would end his parliamentary immunity, Reuters noted.
Expect more questions on this and the practical consequences of “what’s next” to be raised on this during the day, as we hear the evidence from Maribel Vilaplana, the journalist with whom he was eating lunch on the day of the floods, testifying before a judge investigating authorities’ criminal liability for the deaths.
No Tomahawks for Ukraine, for now
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that, for now, he is not considering a deal that would allow Ukraine to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for use against Russia, Reuters reported.
“No, not really,” Trump told reporters as he flew to Washington from Palm Beach, Florida, when asked whether he was considering a deal to sell the missiles. He added, however, that he could change his mind.
His comments come despite growing pressure from Ukraine’s allies and recent talks with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House. On Friday, Rutte said the issue was under review, and that it was up to the US to decide.
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointedly thanked Germany and chancellor Friedrich Merz – in German – for delivery of two more air defence Patriot systems, as promised earlier this year.
He said:
“Russian airstrikes are Putin’s main stake in this war – through terror he tries to compensate for his inability to achieve his insane goals on the ground. Therefore, every strengthening of our air defence literally brings us closer to the end of the war that we are all waiting for. The less Russia achieves, the greater its motivation will be to end the war.”
I will also keep an eye on other news stories in Europe for you, including the political aftermath of the deadly floods in the Valencia region of Spain after the first anniversary last week, the latest from anti-government protests in Serbia, and the coalition talks in the Czech Republic.
It’s Monday, 3 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Valencia leader resigns over handling of last year's deadly floods
Sam Jones
in Madrid
Carlos Mazón, the embattled president of the eastern Spanish region of Valencia, has bowed to public fury and political pressure by resigning over his botched handling of the deadly floods that killed 229 people in the area just over a year ago.
Mazón, a member of the conservative People’s party (PP), had hung on despite calls for him to stand down after it emerged that he spent more than three hours having lunch with a journalist as the floods hit and people were drowning in their homes, garages and cars.
His stubborn refusal to quit had prompted a series of massive demonstrations across Valencia, many under the slogan: “Mud on our hands, blood on his”. A recent survey found that 75% of Valencians believed Mazón should quit.
Mazón had previously insisted there was “no government in the world that has the tools to alter, stop or avoid an episode of torrential rains that end up pummelling historical rainfall records in a given area at a given time”.
But on Monday, Mazón yielded to the inevitable and announced that he would abandon the regional presidency.
