经济学人:英国政坛 饱受压迫的工党

 　　Politics

　　英国政坛

　　Downtrodden Labour

　　饱受压迫的工党

　　Why Conservatives are talking up a Labour-SNP coalition¹

　　保守党吹捧工党和苏格兰国民党联盟的原因

　　My wee prime minister

　　我的迷你首相

　　SPRING is in the air in Westminster and the Conservatives are upbeat. Having lagged behind the opposition² Labour Party in polls for most of the past five years, they are now narrowly ahead two months before the general election. The Tories'clear messages on the economy mainly account for these green shoots (see Bagehot). But an additional explanation is emerging 400 miles to the north: the rise of the secessionist Scottish National Party (SNP).

　　韦斯特敏斯特宫的春天近在眼前，保守党也很欢乐。连续五年的民调都落在对手工党之后，终于在大选前两个月有了微弱的胜出。保守党在经济上明确引导是最近经济萌芽的原因。（见白芝浩专栏）但在英国以北400英里的地方还有一个额外的解释：崇尚独立的苏格兰国民党的兴起。

　　饱受压迫的工党.jpg

　　Since the 1980s Scotland has been Labour’s granite-like electoral base. Though often run by Scots, the party hardly had to think about the country north of Hadrian’s Wall. When the SNP failed last year to win a referendum on Scottish independence, Labour expected it to fall apart, remembers one shell-shocked former staffer. Instead the opposite happened. The SNP has hoovered up the sprawling³, leftish Yes (to independence) movement and turned it into a campaigning machine. The party’s membership has grown from 26,000 to 100,000 in six months. Polling published by Lord Ashcroft, a Tory peer, on March 4th suggests that it is on track to take most of Labour’s 41 seats in Scotland, including some of its oldest strongholds.

　　自上世纪八十年代起，苏格兰就是工党坚定不移的选民基地。虽然这个党派是由苏格兰人领导，但很少关注哈德良长城以北的国土。去年，苏格兰国民党在苏格兰独立的公投中败北，工党就开始期待其会分裂,将其视为已战斗疲劳的前职员。可苏格兰国名党不仅没有四分五裂，反倒吸纳了周边杂乱无序的区域，同意了左翼独立运动，并且将其变为一个竞选机器。六个月间，党派成员从2.6万人增长到10万人。保守党人阿什克罗夫特勋爵在3月4日发布的民调显示，该党要获得工党在苏格兰41个席位中的大多数指日可待，包括一些资历深厚的据点。

　　This helps the Tories in several ways. The first is practical: Labour must divert scarce campaigning resources north to fight for once-safe Scottish seats. The second concerns electoral arithmetic. Even if no party emerges from the election with a majority, as looks likely, the one with the most votes will enter coalition talks with momentum⁴ and authority. Nick Clegg, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats⁵, says that he will speak to the biggest party first—as he did in 2010, when he formed a coalition with David Cameron’s lot. The fewer seats Labour wins, the better the Tories'chance of being in that position and thus of holding power.

　　这点在很多方面都对保守党颇有助益。第一点非常实际：工党必须把少的可怜的竞选资源转移到北部，以竞争安全的苏格兰席位。第二点则是选举的票数。即使没有党派在选举中赢得大部分支持率，看起来，获得大部分选票的党派，将会加入与权力当局的联盟商谈中。中立的自民党人尼克·克雷格称，他会先与最大的党派商谈，正如他在2010年与戴维·卡梅伦的阵营联合那样。工党赢得的席位越少，保守党占据优势进而掌权的可能性就越大。

　　But the main reason for Conservative cheer is that the nationalists'rise may force Labour to seek an accommodation with the SNP. The latest projection⁶ by Election Forecast, a group of political scientists, suggests that Mr Miliband will lack the numbers to govern without the backing (or, at least, tolerance) of the party’s MPs. Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP’s leader, appears to be preparing for such an arrangement: she has assured Scottish voters that her party will never prop⁷ up the Conservatives, and on March 6th confirmed that its opposition to Britain’s nuclear deterrent⁸ would not block a deal with Labour.

　　但保守党高兴的主要原因是，民族主义者的发展可能会迫使工党寻求与苏格兰国名党的和解。由一群政治研究学者组成的选举预测组织发出的最新预计显示，如果米利班德失去了工党议员的支持（或说至少是忍耐），他将很难以这么少的人数来掌管工党。苏格兰国民党的领导人尼古拉·斯特金似乎正为这样的安排做准备：她安抚苏格兰选民称，她领导的政党绝不会支持保守党，并在3月16日证实，苏格兰国民党对于英国核武器威慑的反对，并不会阻断其与工党的协定。

　　Tory strategists believe that the prospect⁹ of a Labour government reliant on the support of MPs who would shatter the United Kingdom horrifies¹⁰ the English. They are gleefully talking up a Labour-SNP deal in the hope that it will cost Labour votes south of the border. In February Mr Cameron claimed that the two leftish parties were “halfway up the aisle” and preparing for “a honeymoon¹¹ in North Korea”. On billboards¹² in English marginal constituencies a Conservative poster depicts¹³ a huge Mr Salmond with Mr Miliband in his pocket.

　　保守党的谋士认为，工党的前景需得依靠广大议员的支持，这些议员能够不再让英国国民再害怕英国政府。保守党议员兴高采烈地谈论工党与苏格兰国民党的联合，希望这样的联合会消耗国境线以南的工党选票。今年二月，卡梅伦声称，这两个左翼政党只是“路才走了一半”，而且是准备“在朝鲜度蜜月”。英国边境选区的一个广告牌上贴了一张保守党海报，上面画的是一个巨大的萨尔蒙德把米利班德装进了口袋里。

　　Tactically, this is smart. Labour frontbenchers wriggle¹⁴ when asked about the SNP, denying that a deal is “on the agenda” but refusing to rule it out. Yet the Tories'ruse could backfire. Humza Yousaf, an SNP bigwig, claims that Mr Cameron’s theatrics will “only increase our support in Scotland”. He has a point. Last September the prime minister begged the Scots to stay, saying that he would be “utterly heartbroken” if they seceded¹⁵. Yet his recent attacks on the SNP can only strengthen the nationalists'claims that the English and the Scots are better off apart. Mr Cameron may protest that he is merely trying to win a second term. But at what cost to the union?

　　在策略上，这点非常聪明。当被问及苏格兰国民党时，工党的前座议员，都顾左右而言他，否认这个交易“已经提上日程”，同时又拒绝排除这样的可能性。然而保守党的计策也可能事与愿违。苏格兰国民党的要员胡扎·尤萨夫声称，卡梅伦的表演“只会提高我们在苏格兰的支持率”。他说得不无道理。去年九月，首相请求苏格兰人留下，他说，如果苏格兰脱离，他会“彻底心碎了”。但他最近对于苏格兰国民党的打击，只能加强民族独立者对于英国苏格兰最好分开的宣言。卡梅伦也许会抗议道，他只是想连任。但是这对联盟而言要消耗多少呢？译者 周雨晴 校对 王颖

　　1.think about 考虑;捉摸

　　There were always things to think about when she went walking.

　　她去散步的时候总是有一些事情要考虑。

　　She doesn't stop to think about what she's saying.

　　她都没有停下来想一想自己在说些什么。

　　2.speak to 对…讲；围绕…谈

　　Could I speak to you in private a moment, padre.

　　可否私下跟您谈谈，牧师。

　　Don't speak to me like that. Don't you dare.

　　不要那样跟我讲话。我不允许！

　　3.prop up 支持，资助

　　If you have difficulty sitting like this, prop up your back against a wall.

　　如果这么坐着有困难，就背靠墙坐吧。

　　The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.

　　政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

　　4.prepare for 作准备

　　President Castro has warned Cubans to prepare for a profound economic emergency.

　　卡斯特罗主席已经提醒古巴人民为严重的经济危急状况做准备。

　　The players are in defiant¹⁶ mood as they prepare for tomorrow'sgame.

　　球员在备战明天的比赛时带着蔑视对手的情绪。

1 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。

2 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。

3 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

4 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

7 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

8 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 horrifies   

v.使震惊，使感到恐怖( horrify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Nazi oppression of the Jews horrifies me. 纳粹对犹太人的迫害使我反感。 来自辞典例句
• That's a prospect that horrifies Net purists. 这种前景让网络净化者感到不安。 来自互联网

11 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

12 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

13 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

14 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

15 seceded   

v.脱离，退出( secede的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Republic of Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903. 巴拿马共和国于1903年脱离哥伦比亚。
• One of the states has seceded from the federation. 有一个州已从联邦中退出。 来自辞典例句

16 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。