2006年VOA标准英语-Britain's Blair Pledges to Step Down Within One

By Gary Thomas
London
07 September 2006

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, under political pressure from within his own party, has promised to step down within one year. The British leader made the announcement in London Thursday in a bid to dampen dissatisfaction within his Labor¹ Party.

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Tony Blair at Downing Street, Sept. 7, 2006  
  
Faced with a brewing² mutiny from some Labor Party members, Prime Minister Blair said this month's annual party conference will be his last, meaning he will leave office sometime within the next year. But he refused to be pinned down to a specific date, as some party politicians demanded.

"I'm not going to say it, a precise date, now," he said. "I don't think that's right. I will do that at a future date, and I'll do it in the interests of the country, and depending on the circumstances of the time."

The announcement came after a tumultuous 24 hours in British politics that saw the resignations of a junior minister and seven senior aides, and a reportedly tense meeting between Blair and his expected successor, Gordon Brown.

Blair has been in office since 1997. Calls have been growing within the party for him to step down to reinvigorate the Labor Party's political fortunes, as recent polls have shown a sharp decline in support. Last week, 17 Labor Party parliamentarians signed a letter calling for a change in leadership.

Blair previously³ said only that he would not run in the next parliamentary elections, which must be held some time before June 2010.

Blair loyalists accused Brown supporters of mounting what some of them labeled a coup⁴, to force Blair to step aside to make way for Brown to become party leader, and thus prime minister.

Gordon Brown  
  
Speaking in Scotland Thursday, Brown said the decision on when to leave is Blair's alone, and he will support whatever the prime minister decides.

"But I want to make it absolutely clear today that, when I met the prime minister yesterday, I said to him, as I have said on many occasions to him and repeat today, that it is for him to make the decision," he said. "I said also to him, and I make clear again today, that I will support him in the decisions he makes, that this cannot, and should not, be about private arrangements, but what is in the best interest of our party, and, most of all, in the best interests of our country. And, I will support him in doing exactly that."

But it is still not clear if Blair's statement will satisfy the dissidents who want the prime minister to leave sooner. Some Labor Party politicians have voiced concern that the dissent⁵ is tearing the party apart, and only works in favor of the opposition⁶ Conservative Party.

Blair apologized for the public party squabbles, saying that "this has not been the Labor Party's finest hour."

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

6 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。