法国工业部长

　　Enfant terrible

　　顽童

　　Will Arnaud Montebourg stay in the French government?

　　阿尔诺·蒙特布尔是否还会继续呆在法国政府？

　　FOR sheer theatrical effect, it is hard to beat Arnaud Montebourg. Tall and telegenic, the 50-year-old Socialist politician is as shameless bossing about global companies as he is charming old ladies at trestle-table picnics over bottles of burgundy in his wineland constituency. Since becoming France’s industry minister in May, however, Mr Montebourg has had a series of awkward encounters with economic reality, which have begun to raise questions about his future in government.

　　如果在意戏剧效果，阿尔诺·蒙特布尔很难被打击。这个修长、上镜的50岁社会党政客不知羞耻的对于跨国公司的干涉正如其在葡萄酒选区品酒时向年长的女士献殷勤一样。自从五月成为了法国工业部部长，阿尔诺·蒙特布尔便遭遇了一系列经济形势上的难堪，也给他以后的政客生涯带来了麻烦。

　　His most recent bruising experience came from his effort to stop ArcelorMittal, a steelmaking giant, closing two blast furnaces at Florange, in Lorraine. At a time when other companies are laying off many more workers, the 629 planned job losses were relatively small. But the political symbolism was large. Lorraine, on France’s eastern border, was once the centre of world steelmaking, and still projects muscular industriousness as a source of national pride. On the election trail, Francois Hollande, now president, went to the site, clambered atop a van, and vowed to protect jobs there.

　　他最近的受伤经历来自于他致力于停止阿赛洛米塔尔，钢铁巨头，关闭在洛林地区弗洛朗热的两个钢铁炉。当其他的公司正在解雇更多的员工时，阿赛洛米塔尔裁员629人不算过分。但是其裁员的政治的意义却很大。洛林，法国东部边境的城市，曾经是世界的钢铁制造中心，而且仍然以其勤勉和强壮的品格成为国家的骄傲。在选举期间，弗朗索瓦·奥朗德，现任法国总统就曾拜访该地，他爬上一辆货车，誓言保护此地的工作机会。

　　Mr Montebourg took up the cause with enthusiasm. He promised to find a buyer for the blast furnaces and denounced the company, declaring “we don’t want Mittal in France any more”. As union hopes rose, he threatened to nationalise the firm—an option Mr Hollande himself then refused to rule out. In the end, however, the government backed down. On November 30th Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, announced that the blast furnaces would not be restarted, and that talk of nationalisation was off the agenda.

　　蒙特布尔满怀热情的接下了这个工作。他承诺为这两个钢铁炉找到买家，并向钢铁公司宣称：“我们不在需要米塔尔再留在法国”。因为联邦的期望增加，他威胁国有化这个公司---对于此种说法，奥朗德不排除有这样的可能。虽然最终政府做出让步。在11月30日，总理让-马克·艾罗，宣布熔炉将停止使用，并宣称国有化将不在议程内。

　　In his role as saviour-in-chief of French industry, Mr Montebourg has tirelessly criss-crossed the country, even dressed up in a striped Breton top in a bid to promote stuff “made in France”. But his credibility is wearing thin. Although he staked out a claim as a left-winger at the Socialist presidential primary, he has zigzagged within the party over the years.

　　作为法国工业的首要拯救者，蒙特布尔不知疲倦的跑遍了整个法国，甚至穿着海军风条纹衫在一次竞拍会推广“法国制造”的产品。但是其信誉却每况愈下。虽然他在社会党总统候选最初阶段宣称自己是左翼，其在党内的这些年道路却十分曲折。

　　Mr Montebourg’s real hallmark is a tough and consistent call for cleaner democratic politics. A lawyer, he campaigned to hold Jacques Chirac to account on charges of corruption linked to the former president’s stint as mayor of Paris. He called for a new constitution and a Sixth Republic. More recently, he has been one of the rare Socialist voices calling for the expulsion of corrupt officials. Today, however, that reputation has got lost amid what his detractors consider recklessness, and what union supporters—including at Florange—increasingly see as betrayal.

　　蒙特布尔最重要的作为是持续的要求严肃的清理民主政治。作为一个律师，他参与了对于雅克·勒内·希拉克账户的冻结，因为其在担任巴黎市长期间的腐败。他呼吁新的宪法的颁布以及成立第六共和国。最近，他又成为了社会党中少数要求肃清腐败官员的人中的一员。然而今天，他的好声誉已经在其诋毁者认为其鲁莽和支持者认为其背叛（包括弗洛朗热地区）中消磨殆尽。

　　For now, Mr Montebourg insists he will stay in his “battle station” job. In some ways, this suits Mr Hollande, who was elected on a promise to stand up to finance and save industry, and needs to show his left wing that he does not just roll over in the face of giant corporations. Yet keeping his minister in place also makes for confusion in French economic policy. Reformists in government are trying to argue that France is open for business. Pierre Moscovici, the finance minister, who has glacial relations with Mr Montebourg, talks of a “Copernican revolution” in Socialist economic thinking. But such a message remains inaudible after Mr Montebourg has so recently put the threat of nationalisation back on the table.

　　如今，蒙特布尔坚持他将继续坚守在“战斗岗位”。在某种程度上来说，这最符合奥朗德，这位在选区期间承诺面对金融局势和挽救工业，以及表现出他的左翼式强势表明他不仅仅周旋于大企业之间的总统的心意。但是，保住蒙特布尔的部长位置会造成法国经济政策的混乱。政府中的改革派一直尽力表明法国需要打开商业大门。一直与蒙特布尔关系糟糕的财务部长皮埃尔·莫斯科维奇提出了实行社会经济的“哥白尼改革”的想法。但是在蒙特布尔提出国有化的威胁后，这一声音便消失了。

　　1.a series of 一系列的

　　例句:We shall take a series of measures to stop air pollution.

　　我们将采取一系列措施制止空气污染。

　　2.stand up 站起来

　　例句:According to etiquette, you should stand up to meet a guest.

　　按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

　　3.In some ways 在某种程度上

　　例句:He was a man of much worldly wisdom, and in some ways resembled Voltaire.

　　他精于人情世故，在某些方面酷似伏尔泰。

　　4.rule out 排除；取消

　　例句:We had to rule out the possibility of increased supplies.

　　我们只好排除了增加供应的可能性。