经济学人:捉摸不透的财政大臣

 　　The inscrutable chancellor¹捉摸不透的财政大臣The Osborne identity奥斯本身份之谜

　　As he prepares for his second budget, the chancellor of the exchequer² remains³ a mystery to many in Westminster

　　奥斯本正酝酿上任后第二份财政预算，对于西敏斯特的众议员来说，这位财政大臣依旧是个谜。

　　NO OTHER office of state carries the mystique of chancellor of the exchequer, a job that comes with almost prime-ministerial power but only a rare duty to enter the spotlight⁴. The next of these occasions comes on March 23rd, when George Osborne delivers his second budget. Coalition⁵ government has left him even less visible, and less understood, than he might have been: Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat⁶ deputy prime minister, has become the second face of the coalition, alongside David Cameron, the prime minister.

　　没有其他的政府职务会比财政大臣一职更为神秘。财政大臣一职虽权比首相但是很少抛头露面。而这样的情况将在3月23日再次得到印证，届时，奥斯本将公布他的第二份财政预算。由于政府是联合执政，这让本来让人捉摸不透的他变得愈发神秘，愈发不为人所知。代表自民党的副首相尼克克莱格成了执政联盟的“二把手”，仅次于首相卡梅隆。

　　Mr Osborne’s elusiveness⁷ would matter less, were the gap between his public profile and his influence smaller. His plan virtually to eliminate the structural⁸ deficit⁹ in this parliament is the government’s main task; the parallel project to reform the public services takes place within budgetary limits set by him. But his sway extends beyond the Treasury¹⁰, where his seriousness and technical command have surprised civil servants who expected the neophyte¹¹ of popular pre-general election caricature. Mr Osborne also does much of the government’s political thinking. He is often the dominant¹² voice in the kind of strategy meetings—many of which Mr Cameron lets him chair—in which he first shone as a young adviser¹³ in the 1990s.

　　如果奥斯本先生的公共形象和他的影响力没有如此显著的差异的话，他的不为人知也就不那么重要了。但是他提出的计划事实上是要在本届议会中通过一项消除结构赤字的提案，而这恰好是政府的主要任务。同时开展的公共服务改革项目也在他制定的预算限制内进行。在财政部，他以严肃的作风和专业的指令让众多公务员大吃一惊，他们原以为他只是一个初出茅庐，在预选中大受欢迎的政治新手罢了。但是他的影响并不仅限于财政部内。同时，许多政府的政治决策也是由他在运筹帷幄。他的声音主导着这类政策会议——其中的许多会议卡梅隆交由他来主持——早在90年代时，他就以年轻的顾问的形象首次在这类会议中脱颖而出。

　　He had few allies in the Conservative Party in opposition¹⁴, but a support base is now growing under him. His special advisers¹⁵ are the best in the government. There are “Osbornite” MPs, such as Matthew Hancock and Greg Hands. His stock has risen on his party’s right: many who once mistrusted his desire to move the Tories to the centre ground now see him as a more vigilant¹⁶ guardian¹⁷ of Tory views in the coalition than Mr Cameron.

　　在保守党内部他没什么盟友，但是越来越多的人支持他。他的特别顾问都是政府里的精英。还有一些“奥斯本方阵”的议员，譬如马修汉考克和格雷戈汉斯。同时他也获得更多右翼人士的青睐：很多人曾怀疑他希望保守党逐渐走向中间路线的动机，但现在他们认为他在执政联盟中能比卡梅隆更忠诚地捍卫保守党的观点。

　　None of this means that Mr Osborne is the “real” prime minister, as some maintain. Mr Cameron’s decisions ultimately carry the day. Neither is their relationship anything like as fraught¹⁸ as that between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Mr Osborne is ambitious but knows that any opportunity to lead his party or country is years away. He also knows that, as our pre-budget opinion poll demonstrates (see article), voters are yet to warm to him.

　　但是也有人认为，这一切并不意味着奥斯本就是“真正”的首相。说到底，还是卡梅隆说了算。而且他们之间的关系完全不似戈登布朗和托尼布莱尔之间那样令人担忧。奥斯本先生虽踌躇满志，但是他明白还要过几年才能有机会担任党魁或者国家元首。同时他清楚的知道，正如《经济学家》在预算公布前开展的民意测验所显示的那样，选民们对他还是不感冒。

　　Still, grasping the differences between the two men is crucial to understanding how the government works. The contrast between Mr Osborne, a lifelong metropolitan¹⁹, and Mr Cameron, a son of the rural home counties, is often said to lie in the former’s social liberalism. But Mr Osborne is more liberal on moral issues such as abortion²⁰ and gay rights than on law and order. And on foreign policy, Mr Cameron would get an easier ride at a trendy London dinner party than hawkish²² Mr Osborne.

　　即便如此，搞清楚这两人之间的不同对于了解政府的运作是必不可少的。奥斯本和卡梅隆的不同之处在于奥斯本主张社会自由主义：奥斯本在大城市里出生长大，而卡梅隆则来自农村地区的一个小县城。但是比起法制问题，奥斯本在许多道德问题上比如堕胎和同性恋权利方面更倾向于自由。在外交政策上，假如卡梅隆和鹰派作风的奥斯本共同出席一场伦敦的时尚宴会的话，卡梅隆可能会更受欢迎。

　　The real difference between them lies in their approach to politics. Mr Osborne is obsessed²³ with winning. He is less moved by abstract ideas such as the “Big Society”. He is more inclined to belligerence²⁴ towards political opponents, whether they be trade unions or the Labour Party. Some Tories think they would now be governing alone had Mr Osborne run last year’s election campaign by himself.

　　他们两人最根本的区别在于从政之道。奥斯本渴望胜利。他对于一些类似于“大社会”之类的抽象理念不那么感兴趣。对于政治对手，他更愿意“奉陪到底”， 不论是工会还是工党。一些保守党人认为要是去年的大选由奥斯本来参选的话，现在他们已经单独掌权了。

　　This hunger for victory comes from tasting multiple defeats as an adviser. Mr Cameron at least worked on the Tories’ triumphant²⁵ 1992 election campaign (Mr Osborne was still a student) and took a sojourn²⁶ in business during the party’s dog days later in the 1990s (Mr Osborne never left Westminster). The chancellor clocked that the Tories needed to soften²⁷ their right-wing image long before Mr Cameron did.

　　这种对于胜利的渴望来自他担任顾问期间多次的失败经历。至少，卡梅隆在1992保守党大选胜出时有所作为（当时奥斯本还是学生），之后在90年代末期保守党光景惨淡时还短暂从商（奥斯本从未走出西敏斯特）。这位财政大臣曾经抨击保守党人告诫他们需要淡化自身的右倾形象。这一主张远早于卡梅隆。

　　In his economics, however, Mr Osborne is an old-fashioned Conservative. His free-market instincts sometimes show; he once flirted²⁸ with the idea of a “flat”, rather than progressive, income tax. He has been restrained in punishing the banking²⁹ sector³⁰ for its part in the financial crisis.

　　但是在经济方面，奥斯本则是老派保守党作风。他有时会展现出自己骨子里对自由市场的支持。他曾经尝试以“固定”所得税代替累进所得税。在惩罚银行在金融危机中扮演的角色时，他表现得十分克制持重。

　　But, when it comes to the public finances, Mr Osborne is a sober fiscal³¹ hawk²¹ rather than a gung-ho Reaganite tax-cutter. Perhaps his best judgment³² came in opposition, in the period before the financial crash, when he resisted calls from the right to promise an overall tax cut. The subsequent crisis vindicated³³ him, but Britain’s relapse into negative growth in the last quarter has brought new demands for tax cuts, or, from the left, slower spending cuts. Voters are worried, as our poll shows.

　　但是，涉及到公共财政时，奥斯本是一个头脑清醒的财务鹰派人士，而不是激进的里根式减税者。可能恰恰是在反对减税上，他做出了最明智的决定：在金融危机的前夕，他顶住右翼要求整体减税的呼声。随后的金融危机证实了他的英明所在。但是英国经济在去年最后一个季度再次陷入负增长，减税之诉求卷土重来，左翼则号召缩减开支。正如我们的民意测验所显示的那样，选民们现在有些担忧。

　　Committed as he is to austerity, in his budget Mr Osborne is likelier to reform taxes than to cut them. That commitment is a political as well as an economic gamble: a double-dip, or even prolonged slow growth, would wound him. The economy will determine whether his credibility keeps soaring, or has already peaked.

　　尽管他致力于财政紧缩，但是在预算中奥斯本更有可能改革而不是减少税收。这种努力既是一场政治赌博，也是一场经济冒险：若出现二次探底，甚至更长时期的缓慢增长，都会对他不利。经济的起伏将决定他的信誉是继续飙升，还是就此打住。

1 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。

2 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

5 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。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 elusiveness   

狡诈

参考例句：

• The author's elusiveness may at times be construed as evasiveness. 这个作家的晦涩文笔有时会被理解为故弄玄虚。 来自互联网
• For all their elusiveness, suicide rates can certainly be correlated with other social and economic indicators. 相对于自杀的令人难以捉摸而言，它却能揭示与之相关的社会问题和经济问题。 来自互联网

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

10 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。

11 neophyte   

n.新信徒；开始者

参考例句：

• The neophyte began to stammer out a reply,but fell silent.新门徒嗫嚅了两句，然后沉默了。
• He is a neophyte at politics.他是个初涉政界的人。

12 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 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。

15 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

16 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

17 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

18 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

19 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

20 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

21 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

22 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

23 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

24 belligerence   

n.交战，好战性，斗争性

参考例句：

• He could be accused of passion,but never belligerence.可以说他很冲动，但不能说他爱挑事。
• He was almost back to his belligerent mood of twelve months ago.他故态复萌，几乎又像一年前那样咄咄逼人了。

25 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

26 sojourn   

v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留

参考例句：

• It would be cruel to begrudge your sojourn among flowers and fields.如果嫉妒你逗留在鲜花与田野之间，那将是太不近人情的。
• I am already feeling better for my sojourn here.我在此逗留期间，觉得体力日渐恢复。

27 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

28 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

29 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

30 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。

31 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

32 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

33 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》