经济学人:贝卢斯科尼意欲重掌大权 蒙蒂将如何阻止?

 　　Europe Italian politics

　　欧洲 意大利政治

　　Will Monti run for prime minister?

　　蒙蒂会竞选总理吗？

　　How to prevent Silvio Berlusconi from returning to power

　　如何防止西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼重掌大权

　　With his restrained smile, laconic¹ manner and dry humour, Mario Monti, Italy’s prime minister, makes a good sphinx. And that is the role he will have to play until the budget for 2013 is approved by parliament, probably on December 21st. Only then will he be able to cast aside the neutrality he must maintain as head of a technocratic² government and announce whether he plans to stand in the general election now expected in February.

　　克制的微笑，简洁的仪态和冷冷的幽默，意大利总理马里奥·蒙蒂塑造了一张体面的狮身人面像。他必须始终扮演这样一个角色，直到议会在12月21日左右通过2013年的预算，他才能够抛弃作为技术官僚政府首脑必须坚持的中立态度，并宣布是否计划参加预定在2月份举行的大选。

　　The early vote became inevitable³ on December 8th when Mr Monti told Giorgio Napolitano, the president, that he intended to resign. By then, he had lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) movement. The 76-year-old Mr Berlusconi then said he would be his party’s candidate for prime minister. He later cast doubt on this, even making a bizarre offer to stand down if Mr Monti wanted to take over his party—a sign perhaps that the former prime minister senses that his candidacy risks becoming an embarrassing catastrophe⁴. It has run into a barrage⁵ of international condemnation⁶ and even Mr Berlusconi’s old chums in the Northern League are hesitating about whether to renew their electoral alliance with the PdL.

　　12月8日，蒙蒂告知意大利总统乔治·纳波利塔诺辞职的打算，提前投票已不可避免。到那时，他失去了西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼领导的自由人民党(PdL) 的支持。76岁的贝卢斯科尼随后宣布他将担任该政党的总理候选人。之后，他又使事情变得疑云重重，甚至令人匪夷所思地提议如果蒙蒂想要接管他的政党的话，他将会退出——这个迹象表明前总理或许意识到他的候选人资格面临着演变成令人尴尬的灾难的危险。他已经陷入轮番轰炸的国际谴责，甚至贝卢斯科尼北方联盟的密友都在犹豫是否恢复和自由人民党组成的竞选联盟。

　　Mr Berlusconi launched himself into the campaign with an implicit⁷ renunciation of the actions of Mr Monti’s government, which his party has until now supported. The billionaire media mogul has since depicted⁸ the government’s policies as unnecessarily painful and imposed on a Germanophile Mr Monti by the government in Berlin. He has scorned concerns over the interest cost on Italy’s vast public debt, which Mr Monti had almost halved⁹ before Mr Berlusconi’s reappearance panicked investors¹⁰. And he held out to voters the prospect¹¹ that he could undo¹² the reintroduction of an unpopular property tax and reignite growth, something he signally failed to do in the eight years between 2001 and 2011 when he held power.

　　贝卢斯科尼投身竞选运动，间接地断绝了和蒙蒂政府的任何行动，而他的政党直到现在依然支持后者。这位拥有亿万资产的媒体大亨目前将政府的政策描述成不必要的疼痛，并通过柏林政府将“亲德派蒙蒂”的称号强加在蒙蒂身上。他一度鄙视对意大利庞大的国债利息成本的担忧，在贝卢斯科尼的再现引起投资者恐慌之前，蒙蒂几乎使其下降了一半。贝卢斯科尼还许诺选民他能通过撤销重新引入的一项不受欢迎的财产税，再次刺激经济增长，而在2001-2011他执政的8年间他显然未能做到这些。

　　Some of Mr Monti’s comments, obliquely¹³ countering Mr Berlusconi’s populist contentions¹⁴, suggest he is itching¹⁵ to defend his government’s record. But those close to him say he is genuinely undecided about whether to run. The risks are considerable, and not just for Mr Monti.

　　蒙蒂的一些拐弯抹角地反对贝卢斯科尼民粹主义论点的言语暗示他渴望保卫他所领导的政府的政绩。但是他的亲信们表示他确实没有决定是否继续执政。风险是巨大的，不仅仅是对蒙蒂而言。

　　A central problem of Italian democracy is that both its main parties are an ideological¹⁶ hotch-potch. On the left, the Democratic Party (PD) is the offspring of a marriage between ex-communists and former Christian¹⁷ Democrats¹⁸. On the right, the PdL is the outcome of a merger¹⁹ between reconstructed neo-fascists and Mr Berlusconi’s heterogeneous²⁰ following of opportunists, ex-socialists, conservatives and the odd liberal. Mr Monti has the chance to lay the foundations of an altogether more presentable conservative movement: an Italian reflection of the principles that inspire the European Peoples’ Party in the European Parliament.

　　意大利民主政体的一个核心问题是主要政党都是思想大杂烩。左翼民主党（PD）是原共产主义者和前基督教民主党结合的后代。而右翼自由人民党是新法兰西主义者和贝卢斯科尼领导的由机会主义者，原社会主义者，保守党和奇怪的自由党组成的多种多样的追随者结合起来的产物。蒙蒂有机会为一场完全的更象样的保守运动打下基础：这项运动是对激励欧洲国会中的欧洲人民党的法则的意大利式的解读。

　　The building blocks already exist: the conservative Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC); a new movement led by the chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, which was founded specifically as a vehicle for the prime minister; and other, smaller groups. Mr Monti could steal votes from the PdL, which is in danger of breaking apart despite Mr Berlusconi’s return and from the moderate wing of the PD. Above all, says Antonio Noto of IPR Marketing²¹, “he could lure²² to the polls some of the 25% of Italians who say they are not tempted²³ by any of the existing parties”, or even by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement led by Beppe Grillo, a former comedian²⁴.

　　构建基础已然存在：保守的基督教和中派民主党联盟；法拉利主席卢卡斯·柯德罗·迪·蒙特泽莫罗领导的专门为总理制造座驾的一项新运动；还包括其他规模较小的组织。虽然贝卢斯科尼复出，但是自由民主党依然面临着解体的危险，蒙蒂可以借此拉拢他们和中立派民主党的选票。最重要的是，知识产权市场研究院的安东尼奥·诺托表示“蒙蒂能够吸引到对现有的政党都没有兴趣的大约25%的意大利人的选票”，甚至能得到前喜剧明星贝皮·格里罗领导的反正统的五星运动的支持。

　　Big business and the Catholic church have already signalled their support for the prime minister. And Mr Monti could prove a good foil for the slick, showy tycoon²⁵. Mr Berlusconi has been defeated twice in five general elections. Each time, his nemesis²⁶ was another quietly-spoken economics professor with impeccable European credentials²⁷: Romano Prodi.

　　意大利财团和天主教会已经暗示了他们对总理的支持。而蒙蒂可以证明自己是这位华而不实，极尽炫耀的商业大亨很好的反衬。贝卢斯科尼在5次大选中2次落败。他的主要对手又是默不作声的持有无懈可击的欧洲证书的经济学教授罗马诺·普罗迪。

　　The snag is that Mr Monti’s real adversary²⁸ would not be Mr Berlusconi, but the leader of the PD, Pier²⁹ Luigi Bersani, who has pointedly³⁰ warned the prime minister to stay out of the fray³¹. Without exception, the polls show the PD and its allies with a substantial lead. Under Italy’s electoral rules, whichever coalition³² comes first receives a bonus that guarantees it a majority in the Chamber³³ of Deputies. But in the Senate the bonus is allocated³⁴ region by region. The big risk for the governability of Italy after the election is a result that gives a coalition a majority in the chamber, but not in the Senate.

　　真正的障碍在于蒙蒂的真正的对手并不是贝卢斯科尼，而是民主党的领导人贝尔萨尼，他尖锐地提醒总理远离这场争论。无一例外，民意调查显示民主党和其盟友大大领先。根据意大利的大选规则，任何一个处于第一位的联盟都有这样一个福利，保证其得到众议院的多数支持。而在参议院里，这个福利是按地区分配的。大选后的意大利施政将面临的最大危险是选举结果使得该联盟获得了众议院的多数支持，却没有得到参议院的支持。

　　A pro-Monti coalition would find it hard to overtake the PD nationally, but could ruin its chances of dominating both houses. A hung Senate might also give Mr Berlusconi, whose party has sunk to around 15% in the polls, his most realistic chance of retaining influence. But so long as Mr Monti was ready to join forces with Mr Bersani after the election, the PdL could be pushed firmly into opposition³⁵, along with Mr Grillo’s representatives.

　　支持蒙蒂的联盟发现要全国性地推翻民主党相当困难，但是可以毁灭其统治两院的机会。贝卢斯科尼领导的政党的民意支持率已经降到了15%，而悬而未决的参议院给他保持影响力提供了最现实的机会。但是只要蒙蒂准备好在大选后和贝尔萨尼通力合作，自由人民党将被牢牢地推向反对派，格里罗的代表也不例外。

　　Other calculations are weighing on Mr Monti. If he were to stand, he would have to give up his life senator’s seat. A decision to run could mean he lost his chance to occupy the Quirinal palace as Italy’s head of state when Mr Napolitano retires next year. That is where Mr Bersani would like to see him, as a guarantor of future reforms. Above all, there is the increasingly unfathomable Berlusconi variable. If Mr Berlusconi were to pull out, or his party to implode³⁶, the temptation for Mr Monti to pounce³⁷ might become irresistible³⁸.

　　其他政治猜测也压得蒙蒂喘不过气来。如果他继续担任总理的话，他将不得不放弃终身议员的席位。退出竞选的决定意味着他将失去明年纳波利塔诺退休后作为意大利元首进驻奎里纳莱宫的机会。而贝尔萨尼迫切期望他能作为未来改革的保证人呆在那里。毕竟，贝卢斯科尼的可变因素正变得越来越深不可测。如果贝卢斯科尼撤出大选，或其政党发生内讧，那么蒙蒂面临抓住这个机会的诱惑是不可阻挡的。

　　1.prime minister 总理

　　例句:Canada's Prime Minister is the counterpart of the U.S. President.

　　加拿大总理相当于美国总统。

　　2.Above all 首先；尤其是

　　例句:After his sickness, he cherished his health above all.

　　在他生病之后，他珍惜健康胜于所有东西。

　　3.pull out 离开；撤离

　　例句:You don't need to pull out your stationery³⁹.

　　你不用拿出文具。

　　4.in danger 处于危险中

　　例句:He is in danger of losing his job if he goes on like this.

　　他再这样下去会丢掉工作的。

1 laconic   

adj.简洁的；精练的

参考例句：

• He sent me a laconic private message.他给我一封简要的私人函件。
• This response was typical of the writer's laconic wit.这个回答反映了这位作家精练简明的特点。

2 technocratic   

adj.由技术专家官员组成的；受技术官僚影响的

参考例句：

• But there is method in Europe's technocratic madness, the official went on. 但欧洲的专家政治论者的愤怒是有原因的，这个位官员接着说道。 来自互联网
• Mr Juppé was floored in part by his contemptuous, technocratic attitude towards union leaders. 朱佩对工会领导蛮横与不屑，是导致他一败涂地的部分原因。 来自互联网

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

5 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

6 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

7 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

8 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

9 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 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。

12 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

13 obliquely   

adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大

参考例句：

• From the gateway two paths led obliquely across the court. 从门口那儿，有两条小路斜越过院子。 来自辞典例句
• He was receding obliquely with a curious hurrying gait. 他歪着身子，古怪而急促地迈着步子，往后退去。 来自辞典例句

14 contentions   

n.竞争( contention的名词复数 )；争夺；争论；论点

参考例句：

• Direct tests on individual particles do not support these contentions. 对单个粒子所作的直接试验并不支持这些论点。 来自辞典例句
• His contentions cannot be laughed out of court. 对他的争辩不能一笑置之。 来自辞典例句

15 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 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》

19 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

20 heterogeneous   

adj.庞杂的；异类的

参考例句：

• There is a heterogeneous mass of papers in the teacher's office.老师的办公室里堆满了大批不同的论文。
• America has a very heterogeneous population.美国人口是由不同种族组成的。

21 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

22 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

23 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

24 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

25 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

26 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

27 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

28 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

29 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

30 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

32 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。

33 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

34 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

35 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。

36 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

37 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

38 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

39 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。