经济学人:德国政坛(2)

 Even if the “grand coalition¹” staggers on, Mrs Merkel should not hang around for long. 即使“大联盟政府”摇摇欲坠，默克尔也不应该浪费太多时间。

The CDU, when it gathers in December at the congress that will now choose a new party leader, will be aware that it is also choosing the probable next chancellor², which is why three powerful candidates jumped into the frame on the day she made her announcement. 基民盟将于12月在国会召开会议，届时将选出很有可能成为新总理的政党领袖。这就是为什么在她宣布不再参选的当天，就有三位实力强大的候选人加入了竞选阵营。

Others are likely to follow. The winner will instantly upstage the incumbent³. 其他人可能会效仿。获胜者将会立即抢了默克尔的风头。

As well as being speedy, the process needs to be transparent⁴. 这个过程不但要快速，而且要透明。

On migration⁵ policy, euro-zone reforms and defence, the CDU has large disagreements that need to be hammered out. 在移民政策、欧元区改革和国防方面，基民盟有很多分歧需要解决。

The choice of a successor to Mrs Merkel is the time to do it. 选择默克尔继任者的时机已经成熟。

There should thus be a genuine debate about principles and, above all, no attempt by Mrs Merkel to push forward the successor who would be the most likely to prop⁶ her up. 因此，应该就原则展开一场真正的辩论，默克尔尤其不应试图推动最有可能支持她的继任者上台。

So far she has not entirely⁷ lived up to that ideal. 到目前为止，默克尔并没有实现那个理想。

It is widely understood that she wants Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to take over (she nominated “AKK” to the post of party general secretary in February with just that in mind, many believe). 现在传的最多的说法是安娜格莱特·克朗普·卡伦鲍尔将会接替默克尔的职位（许多人认为正是出于这个想法，默克尔在2月份提名卡伦鲍尔担任基民盟秘书长）。

Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, as far as one can tell, shares most of Mrs Merkel's centrist instincts. 据我所知，克朗普·卡伦鲍尔和默克尔中间派本能大部分相似。

The other two declared contenders, Jens Spahn and Friedrich Merz, are considerably⁸ further to the right. 另外两名参选人，延斯·史潘和弗雷德里希·梅尔茨则明显偏右。

Either of them might help the CDU stem the haemorrhage of votes to the Alternative for Germany (AfD), but would alienate⁹ the Social Democrats¹⁰, assuming they remain in the coalition that long. 这两位都有可能会帮助基民盟阻止选票流向德国新选择党，但会疏远社会民主党，前提是他们会在联盟政府存在那么长时间。

Once Mrs Merkel steps down as chancellor too, Germany ought quickly to hold another election. 一旦默克尔也辞去总理职位，德国应尽快举行新的选举。

Leaders without a mandate¹¹ from voters seldom command much respect. 没有选民授权的领导人很难受到尊重。

And the electoral situation has changed radically¹² since the last vote, in September 2017. 自2017年9月上次投票以来，选举形势发生了根本性的变化。

The coalition parties' support has collapsed¹³, thanks to the unpopularity of their reheated deal; 由于重新升温的协议不受欢迎，联盟政党的支持已经崩溃；

that of the Greens and the AfD has surged. 绿党和新选择党支持率大幅上升。

Germany's government needs to reflect that fact if it wants to get anything done. 如果德国政府想要有所作为，那么就需要反应这一事实。

 

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 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。

3 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 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。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

10 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》

11 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

12 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

13 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。