2015年经济学人 西班牙加泰罗尼亚领导人陷入洗钱丑闻

Spain and the Catalans

Scandal in Catalonia

Jordi Pujol's confession¹ undermines Catalans' hopes of independence

IT IS not the narrative² that Catalan separatists hoped for as they face a stand-off with the Madrid government over a planned independence vote in November.

Instead of a debate about evil Castilian conquistadors, their cause has been overshadowed by a scandal over a fallen hero,

Jordi Pujol, who served for six terms as leader of Catalonia.

Four weeks ago Mr Pujol admitted that his family had hidden money in Switzerland for the past 35 years.

“We never found the right moment to declare it,” he said breezily.

The confession comes at an awkward time.

Mr Pujol's hand-picked successor as head of his Convergence and Union (CiU) group,

and Catalonia's current leader, Artur Mas, has promised a referendum on November 9th.

Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, will ban it. Separatists hoped this would swell³ their ranks.

But now all the talk is of the 84-year-old Mr Pujol, a political giant in his region.

The man who set Catalonia on a path from no self-government to an annual budget of 25.5 billion

($33.9 billion, about half of Ireland's) liked to be called “president” or “the most honourable”.

A foundation bearing his name specialises in ethics⁴.

In 23 years as president until 2003, he became a master at persuading Catalans that they were victims of Madrid.

The battle cry of the independence campaign is that the rest of Spain steals Catalan taxes and wastes them on lazy southerners.

Now Mr Pujol himself has been found hiding his own stash⁵ of cash.

Other family members are under investigation⁶.

A son, also called Jordi, goes before a judge in mid-September to answer questions about tax fraud and money-laundering after a girlfriend accused him of carrying bags of 500 notes to Andorra.

Another son, Oriol, has quit as secretary-general of the senior partner in the CiU group,

Catalan Democratic Convergence: an investigating judge suspects him of taking bribes⁷.

A legion of longtime Pujol-haters in Spain are dancing on the dynasty's political grave and hoping that this may kill the referendum.

The scandal will hurt Mr Mas, but it does not sink separatism.

He is being tugged⁸ in opposite directions by his referendum pledge.

His more moderate coalition⁹ partner, Democratic Catalan Union (UDC), has threatened to quit.

The ardently¹⁰ separatist Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which props¹¹ up his minority government,

wants him to defy Madrid by calling an illegal referendum if need be.

It also demands an inquiry¹² if Mr Pujol does not appear before the Catalan parliament.

Mr Mas may hold an early election that serves as a proxy¹³ for a vote on independence.

Carme Forcadell, leader of a Catalan pressure group that has driven the separatist surge,

insists on this if Mr Rajoy blocks the referendum. But opinion polls show CiU trailing ERC.

The Pujol affair will damage it further. If the UDC walks out, Mr Mas's party may be hammered.

A test of separatist feeling will come on September 11th, Catalonia's national day.

In previous years Ms Forcadell's group has called out millions to demand an independence vote.

This year's protest may be less impressive.

Those who want a new deal with Spain but dislike full independence may stay away.

Anger about the economy, a source of many gripes, is dimming, but the Pujol scandal will spread disillusion¹⁴.

The man who built up Catalan national pride is now undermining it.

1 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

5 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 ardently   

adv.热心地，热烈地

参考例句：

• The preacher is disserveing the very religion in which he ardently believe. 那传教士在损害他所热烈信奉的宗教。 来自辞典例句
• However ardently they love, however intimate their union, they are never one. 无论他们的相爱多么热烈，无论他们的关系多么亲密，他们决不可能合而为一。 来自辞典例句

11 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

12 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

13 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

14 disillusion   

vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭

参考例句：

• Do not say anything to disillusion them.别说什么叫他们泄气的话。
• I'd hate to be the one to disillusion him.我不愿意成为那个让他幻想破灭的人。