经济学人:政治押宝? 英国两党因争夺议员席位陷酣战

 　　Selecting candidates

　　选择候选人

　　Supply-side politics

　　政治押宝

　　How the parties pick would-be MPs

　　政党如何挑选准国会议员

　　For the next two weeks all political eyes will be on Eastleigh, a suburban¹ seat on the outskirts² of Southampton abruptly³ vacated on February 5th by Chris Huhne, a scandal-plagued MP. The by-election deliciously pits the Conservative Party against the Liberal Democrats⁴; opportunities for coalition⁵-straining rows abound⁶. But Eastleigh gives a false impression of British politics. More than two-thirds of seats in the House of Commons are safe. Landing the right party ticket in one is to become an MP-in-waiting. Around the country, the 2015 parliament is quietly taking shape.

　　在接下来的两周里，所有政治家的目光都将会聚焦在伊斯特雷格（Eastleigh）。2月5日，丑闻缠身的议员克里斯·休恩（Chris Huhne）辞去了议员职位，使得这个南安普敦（Southampton）的这个郊区里出现了一个席位空缺。这个补缺选举使得保守党和自由民主党陷入酣战，也让两党有机会大吵一架。然而伊斯特雷格的问题并不能反映当下英国政坛的力量对比。下议院超过三分之二的席位是安全的。得到一张保守党的“入场券”就相当于成为一名准议员。从全国局势看来，2015年的国会已悄然成形。

　　Selecting a candidate used to be an informal business, involving a tap on the shoulder and a friendly word or two. Today voters are more apolitical and cynical⁷ than they used to be—and party members a rarer and more ideological⁸ breed. Left to their own devices, activists⁹ might pick unelectable zealots. So party bosses try to strike a balance between giving members a choice and ensuring that selectees have electoral and parliamentary potential. Each party prioritises a distinct—and revealing—bundle of characteristics.

　　曾经，挑选一个候选人是一件非正式的事情，只要轻拍一下肩膀说一两句亲切的话以示支持。如今，投票者相较于以前要么对政治更加的漠不关心，要么更加的愤世嫉俗。同时，政党成员变成一群更加稀有也更加意识形态化的物种。若听任这种状况发展下去，积极分子将会选择不可能当选的狂热激进分子。所以，在给予党内成员选择余地与保证入选人员具有选举号召力和成为议员的潜质之间，各党的党魁们都在寻求达成一种平衡。各党派的优先考虑项都不相同，这也正揭示出他们各自的特点。

　　Would-be Conservative MPs attend a Parliamentary Assessment¹⁰ Board (PAB) where they complete five exercises: public speaking, an interview, an in-tray test (in which candidates must speedily prioritise and complete a series of desk-based tasks), a group exercise and a written exam. The process is designed to uncover brainy, personable Stakhanovites with steely resilience and the gift of the gab¹¹. Peter Botting, a consultant¹² who trains prospective¹³ candidates, describes one pupil who is used to working long hours but was “shattered” after the six-hour assessment.

　　准保守党议员都要参加一次国会评估董事会（PAB），在那里他们要完成五项训练：公众演讲，一次面试，一次文筐测试（在此项测试中，候选者必须快速地按优先顺序处理并完成一系列基本办公任务），一次小组练习和一次写作考试。这个程序旨在发现有头脑，风度良好的高效工作者（译者注：Stakhanovites斯达汉诺夫，一俄国人，工作努力且追求高效），要有极好的适应力且口齿伶俐。一位培训准候选者的顾问彼得·鲍汀（Peter Botting）形容道，一个即使习惯长时间工作的培训生，在经历6个小时的评估后，他也会感到筋疲力尽。

　　Critics say the process disadvantages outsiders who lack relevant political or professional experience. But Jo Silvester, an organisational psychologist who helped the party draw up the tests, counters that it weeds out substandard candidates, including ones with desirable backgrounds. Only once a hopeful has proven his abilities is he free to apply for seats, schmooze local members and bid for their votes at selection hustings¹⁴.

　　评论家表示这个程序对缺少相关政治或专业经验的圈外人是不利的。但是，一位曾经帮助政党进行测试的组织心理学家乔·西尔维斯特（Jo Silvester）反击道，这类测试可以淘汰掉不符标准的候选人，其中包括一些拥有令人满意背景的人。一个有前途的人只有一次机会去证明他所拥有的能力，即他可以自由申请席位，和当地的政党成员拉拢关系，并且在竞选活动中得到选票。

　　The Lib Dems also screen applicants¹⁵ before letting local activists pass judgment¹⁶. But whereas the Tories are looking for future Commons stars, their coalition partners are interested in campaigning grit¹⁷. Although the Lib Dem assessment is based on the PAB, it tests for two other skills: “representing people” and “values in action”. These, says a senior party figure, reflect an expectation that candidates should make a “huge personal commitment” to their constituencies. The party has few safe seats, so a strong local following is essential. Mike Thornton, the party’s new candidate inEastleigh, epitomises the type. A veteran of 20 years of leafleting and a councillor of five years’ standing¹⁸, he admits that running for election “has been an ambition for some time”.

　　在允许当地的积极分子通过审查之前，自由民主党也要甄选候选人。但当保守党（译者注：托利党是保守党的前身）正在寻找未来的“国会之星”时，他们的合作伙伴却对人民疾苦更加关注。尽管自由民主党的评估是基于国会评估董事会考核的基础上，它同时也针对另外两种技能进行了测试：“代表民意”和“行为价值”。一位自由民主党的高级官员表示，这些技能的测试表达了一种期望，即期望候选人应当对他们自己的选民做出一个“巨大的个人承诺”。所以有一批强有力的当地支持者是极为必要的。自由民主党在伊斯特雷格的新候选人麦克·桑顿（Mike Thornton）正是这种类型的代表。他是一位有着20年散发竞选传单经验的老手，且是5年的固定议员。他承认为竞选奔波“有时是一种雄心壮志”。

　　Once singularly control-freakish, in 2011 the Labour Party dropped its multi-stage pre-screening process and allowed aspirants¹⁹ to apply directly to stand for individual seats. Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, is watching the new batch²⁰ of selectees cautiously, but declares himself satisfied with the quality of candidates. “All power to the members”, he proclaims, noting that the process favours a certain type of candidate, one who can organise²¹ neighbours to battle library closures, high street loan sharks, antisocial behaviour and the like. Such activities, says Mr McNicol, underpin²² “everything we will do” in the run-up to the 2015 election.

　　2011年，曾经极度控制与自己政见不同的候选人的工党，放弃了自己的多级预先筛选的程序，并允许有抱负者直接去申请代表个人的席位。工党的总书记伊恩·麦克尼克尔（Iain McNicol）正在仔细的观察着新的一批入选人员，但他声称自己对候选者的质量较为满意。他提倡“有能力者为之”，他同时也留意到这个程序对其中一种类型的候选人十分有利，他们可以把邻居组织起来抗议公共图书馆的关闭，高额的活期拆放贷款诈骗，反社会行为等类似的情况。麦克尼克尔先生表示在2015年大选的预备阶段中，这样的活动会加强工党“全心全意为人民服务”的理念。

　　But there is a limit to how much party machines can control their intake²³. Before the last election the Conservatives gave priority to an “A-list” of prospective candidates deemed politically desirable for their glamour²⁴, youth, professional success, sex or ethnicity. Sure enough, the independent-minded 2010 intake contains few grey party drones. It has also proved head-bangingly unruly and virtually unleadable. Party leaders should be careful what they wish for.

　　但是政党机制中控制他们新入选的候选者到什么程度的仍存在一个限制。在上一次的选举中，保守党对排在名单前列的准候选者给予了优先考虑，这些人魅力十足，充满活力，事业成功，同时还拥有性别和种族上的优势，这些都被视为理想化的从政条件。可以肯定的是，单从2011年的大选结果看来，新入选的议员中有来自背景不明的不入流党派。这种情况也证明了这些议员是冲动莽撞，难以驾驭的，且实际上是无法被领导的。各党派的领导人应当认真思虑一下自己到底要的是什么。

　　1.by-election 补缺选举

　　例句:He won the by-election, only to be defeated at the general election.

　　他赢得了补缺选举，结果却在普选中落选。

　　2.multi-stage 多级的

　　例句:Our current interviewing model is a multi-stage process.

　　当前的面试模型是一个多阶段的过程。

　　3.stand for 代表；支持

　　例句:He hates us and everything we stand for.

　　他仇恨我们以及我们的任何主张。

　　4.draw up 草拟；起草

　　例句:They agreed to draw up a formal agreement.

　　他们同意起草一份正式协议。

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

4 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》

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 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

7 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

8 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。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 gab   

v.空谈，唠叨，瞎扯；n.饶舌，多嘴，爱说话

参考例句：

• The young man had got the gift of gab.那个年轻小贩能说会道。
• She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。

12 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

13 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

14 hustings   

n.竞选活动

参考例句：

• With only days to go before elections in Pakistan,candidates are battling it out at the hustings.离巴基斯坦大选只有几天的时间了，各候选人正在竞选活动上一决胜负。
• Most politicians will be at the hustings in the coming week.大多数政治家将在下周展开竞选活动。

15 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

16 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。

17 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 aspirants   

n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人

参考例句：

• aspirants to the title of world champion 有志夺取世界冠军的人
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out. 考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

21 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

22 underpin   

v.加固，支撑

参考例句：

• China needs regional stability to underpin its continued economic growth.中国需要地区稳定来巩固其持续的经济增长。
• These developments are underpinned by solid progress in heavy industry.重工业的稳固发展为这些进展打下了基础。

23 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

24 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。