境况不佳的克罗地亚

　　A mighty 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 picturesque Adriatic port city, has been a favourite destination not only of the habitual cruise-ship tourists but also of foreign dignitaries. Within a few days, Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, 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。

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　　Yet, however popular a travel destination, Croatia is not well. The economy is now in its sixth consecutive 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 analyst.

　　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 sector, and its far too numerous local authorities. But, despite some minor 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 stagnating, 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 corruption 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。

　　Liquidity 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 qualified 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 commiserated with victims of the disastrous 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, nepotism 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 Democrats 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 coalition were trounced whereas the main opposition, the Croatian Democratic Union, did well. Yet in the eyes of voters all sides are tainted by corruption and most of them are fed up with what they see as a political elite unwilling or unable to extricate 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。