美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.K. prime minister fires finance chief amid economic turmoil

U.K. prime minister fires finance chief amid economic turmoil¹

Transcript²

The U.K. finance minister has been fired by Prime Minister Liz Truss, following financial and political turmoil over the announcement of new economic policies and massive tax cuts.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

British Prime Minister Liz Truss has fired Britain's equivalent of a treasury³ secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng. The move comes after Kwarteng's budget, which included massive tax cuts, sent financial markets reeling in the U.K. And Truss said, today, something had give.

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PRIME MINISTER LIZ TRUSS: It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting. So the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change.

MARTINEZ: Today's move is a massive U-turn for the prime minister. And it threatens her hold on a job she's had for just six weeks. For more, we turn to NPR's London correspondent Frank Langfitt. Frank, tell us a little more about what's behind Truss' decision today.

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE⁴: Yeah, A, basically what happened is this budget sparked financial panic. And that's the last thing you want when you've just taken a job like this. And so what Liz Truss was saying is in order to restore financial stability, she needed to make changes. She decided⁵ specifically to go ahead with raising corporate⁶ taxes, which is something that she'd opposed. And of course, this wasn't just to calm markets, but actually to try to keep her job.

MARTINEZ: What about this budget, Frank? What's the problem with it?

LANGFITT: There were a lot of problems with it, A. One thing, it was $50 billion in unfunded tax cuts. That's the biggest cut in this country in half a century. Kwarteng said it would drive growth and cut inflation, but there were really big risks. You know, the tax cuts would be expanding the money supply here by tens of billions of dollars at a time when inflation is almost at 10%. Now, the markets responded to this. And they basically said, this is a terrible idea. The pound crashed to a record low. It was almost at the equal value with the dollar. Bank of England had to buy up a lot of bonds to support pension funds here. And it was basically seen as a big mess.

MARTINEZ: Well, now that he lost his job, what did Kwarteng have to say about all this?

LANGFITT: Well, it's interesting. I was reading his letter, A, and he kind of stuck to his guns. He said he accepted Truss' decision. But he also said that, you know, the U.K. economy has been dogged by low growth and high taxation⁷ for many years. And he's right. That's absolutely true. And he said, those policies are going to have to change for the country to move forward. But I guess what Liz Truss was saying is maybe not quite right now. And now she's named a new head of the treasury, basically. His name is Jeremy Hunt. He's a former health secretary. And he's seen as - the British like to say, you know, a safe pair of hands.

MARTINEZ: Now, Kwarteng is gone. What about Liz Truss? Can she hold onto her job?

LANGFITT: I think there are real doubts about that right now. I was just watching the press conference here, A. And reporters kept asking, how can you stay when this was your own policy, was like a cornerstone of the way she won the premiership? And the former treasury secretary here, Philip Hammond, said that he had - she had basically trashed the Conservative Party's reputation for economic competence⁸, which is, really, very much a part of their brand. If you look at the polls now, A, the Conservative Party is running over 30% behind the opposition⁹ Labour Party in the polls. I've never seen a gap like that. So we'll have to see. I mean, the big picture here, also, I think, for our listeners is, you know, since 2016, the Brexit vote, this country has been in intermittent¹⁰ political chaos¹¹. And from the perspective you'd see in Paris or New York or elsewhere in the West, this is not good, to have a reliable ally that's been very helpful in Ukraine, for instance, be in such political disarray¹². So I'm sure that this is being watched very closely in a lot of capitols in the West.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Frank Langfitt in London. Frank, thanks.

LANGFITT: Good to talk, A.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

8 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。