经济学人178:境况不佳的克罗地亚

 　　Ailing¹ Croatia

　　境况不佳的克罗地亚

　　A mighty² mess

　　一团糟

　　Croatia is the EU's newest basket case

　　克罗地亚是欧盟最新的大麻烦

　　There is a cloud over Dubrovnik

　　杜布罗夫尼克上空蒙上阴云

　　THIS month Dubrovnik, Croatia's picturesque³ Adriatic port city, has been a favourite destination not only of the habitual⁴ cruise-ship tourists but also of foreign dignitaries. Within a few days, Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor⁵, senior officials from Russia, China, America and New Zealand and almost every single regional foreign minister and president dropped by. Credit for the flurry of visitors goes to Vesna Pusic, Croatia's foreign minister, who is seen at home as a candidate for secretary-general of the UN.

　　这个月，克罗地亚风景优美的亚得里亚海港口城市杜布罗夫尼克不仅是来往观光游客喜爱的目的地，还获得了外国高官的青睐。几天之内，德国总理安吉拉·默克里，俄国、中国、美国、新西兰的高级官员，以及几乎所有地区的外交部长和总统都曾到此一游。这批访客的到来还多亏了被国人视为了联合国秘书长的候选人的克罗地亚外交部长普西奇。

　　境况不佳的克罗地亚.jpg

　　Yet, however popular a travel destination, Croatia is not well. The economy is now in its sixth consecutive⁶ year of recession. When Zoran Milanovic, the Social Democratic prime minister, took over in December 2011, his government promised painful but necessary reforms. Since then little has happened. Joining the European Union a year ago did not result in the hoped-for boost, partly because the reforms Croatia still needs to do were not the ones required to join the EU, says Senada Selo Sabic, an analyst⁷.

　　然而，无论克罗地亚是一个多么热门的旅游点，它的情况并不乐观。克罗地亚经济如今进入了持续衰退的第六年。当社会民主党总理米兰诺维奇于2011年12月掌权时，他的政府承诺了要进行艰辛但有必要的改革。但从那以后几乎就没什么动静了。分析师Senada Selo Sabic说，一年前加入欧盟并未带来期许的发展，部分原因是因为克罗地亚待推进的改革并不是加入欧盟所需要的。

　　Ever since the end of the war in 1995, successive governments have pledged to cut Croatia's bloated public sector⁸, and its far too numerous local authorities. But, despite some minor⁹ reforms, not one, including the current government, has been willing to take on powerful interest groups such as trade unions, who resist any change affecting them. The latest fight is with public-service cleaning staff who oppose a plan to outsource their work. Tenders for research for oil and gas in the east and drilling in the Adriatic, may yet yield riches, but not for years to come.

　　自从1995年战争结束，继任的一届届政府都保证要精简克罗地亚臃肿的公共部门和数目过多的地方机构。但就算是进行了一些小改革，甚至连现政府在内，至今都没谁愿意与强大的利益集团较量，比如说抵制任何会波及自己的改变的工会。最近一次冲突是与公共服务清洁工的，他们反对外包工作的计划。对东部油气和亚得里亚海钻井的研究投标也许到目前为止是盈利的，但未来就不会了。

　　Croatia is stagnating¹⁰, says Emil Tedeschi, the head of Atlantic Grupa, one of the few big Croatian companies still expanding, although most of its growth comes from its business outside the Balkans. The country is short of management skills, he says, is overtaxed and the government lacks courage. It has fought corruption¹¹ and increased tax revenues, but has done nothing to cut bureaucracy or red tape.

　　Atlantic Grupa的主席Emil Tedeschi说，克罗地亚正处于停滞不前状态。Atlantic Grupa是克罗地亚少数仍在扩张的大公司之一，尽管它的发展大部分都依赖于巴尔干半岛外的交易。他还表示，该国缺乏管理技巧，课税过重，政府也缺乏勇气。虽已做了反腐和提高税收的工作，却对减少官僚作风和繁文缛节无动于衷。

　　Liquidity¹² is a huge problem. In a restaurant in Zagreb a wine merchant thanks the owner for paying him. “You are the only one,” he says. A man in his mid-thirties, he was full of hope a year ago. Now, he says, he is planning to emigrate to Italy. He will not be alone. Medical staff and other qualified¹³ professionals are leaving.

　　流动性是个大问题。在萨格勒布的一家餐厅里，一位红酒商人感谢餐厅老板购买了他的商品。他说：“您是唯一的一位。”这位约35岁的男人一年前还充满了希望。而现在，他说，他正计划移民到意大利。他并不是唯一的一个。医务人员和其他的有资质的专业人士也在渐渐离开。

　　Mr Milanovic has a reputation for intelligence but not for his political skills or communication. He commiserated¹⁴ with victims of the disastrous¹⁵ floods in May by telling them about a burst pipe he once had. A conflict in his cabinet led to a spectacular bust-up with Slavko Linic, then minister of finance. After getting the sack, Mr Linic went on the attack, accusing the prime minister of laziness, nepotism¹⁶ and running the country from restaurants.

　　米拉诺维奇素以智力超群而闻名，但他的政治技能和沟通能力却显得逊色不少。他竟以自己遭遇过的管道破裂之事来安慰五月份受洪涝之灾的群众。他的内阁冲突导致了与当时财政部长斯拉夫科·里尼奇的公开决裂。被解雇后，里尼奇继续进攻，控告这位总理懒惰、任人唯亲且在餐桌上管理国家。

　　A row with Mirela Holy, another former cabinet minister, ended with Ms Holy leaving the Social Democrats¹⁷ and starting her own environmentalist party. The new party came in third at European elections in May, taking 9.4% of votes. Mainly thanks to the split of the left, the parties of the governing coalition¹⁸ were trounced whereas the main opposition¹⁹, the Croatian Democratic Union, did well. Yet in the eyes of voters all sides are tainted²⁰ by corruption and most of them are fed up with what they see as a political elite²¹ unwilling²² or unable to extricate²³ their country from the mess it is in.

　　与另一位前内阁部长Mirela Holy的争吵以Holy女士脱离社会民主党，组建自己的环保人士党结束。这一新政党在五月的欧洲议会选举中排名第三，获得了9.4%的票数。这主要得益于左派的分裂，执政联盟的各党深受打击，而主要的反对党克罗地亚民主联盟表现不错。然而在选民眼中，各党都受到了腐败侵蚀，大多数人都受够了在他们看来是一位政治精英不愿或不能将国家从混乱中解救出来的这一境况。

1 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

4 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

13 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

14 commiserated   

v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She commiserated with the losers on their defeat. 她对失败的一方表示同情。
• We commiserated with the losers. 我们对落败者表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

16 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。

17 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》

18 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。

19 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。

20 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

22 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

23 extricate   

v.拯救，救出；解脱

参考例句：

• How can we extricate the firm from this trouble?我们该如何承救公司脱离困境呢？
• She found it impossible to extricate herself from the relationship.她发现不可能把自己从这种关系中解脱出来。