VOA常速英语2008年-Ethnic Politicians Struggle in Europe; Find Hop

By Lisa Bryant
Thiais, France
24 February 2008

Although U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, an African-American, is enjoying momentum¹ from 11 straight wins in Democratic presidential nominating contests, minority politicians in Europe are still struggling. They often make up only a small percentage in parliaments across Europe. And only a few hold high-ranking positions in government. From the town of Thiais, west of Paris, Lisa Bryant reports times are beginning to change.

It is a frigid² Sunday morning in Thiais as Zohra Bitan passes out flyers for her run as mayor of this conservative Paris suburb. It is Bitan's first run for office, and she is not a known face. Many residents hurry by to shop for fruits, vegetables and fish at the town's weekly outdoor market.

Bitan is the candidate of the opposition³ Socialist⁴ party. But the town has been voting for the same mayor of the ruling conservative UMP party, for more than two decades. And she faces another challenge. If elected during municipal voting next month, she will be the town's first ethnic⁵ North African mayor.

But Bitan, whose parents immigrated⁶ to France from Algeria, says her ethnic background should not be a factor.

Bitan agrees that that ethnic immigrants here need to be harder working and more determined⁷ to erase⁸ prejudices that might stand in their way. But she sees herself as French, not Algerian.

Still, minority politicians like Bitan, in France and in Europe, are struggling for a voice. Many of them are black and Muslim and their families came here seeking work decades ago.

In France, for example, only one of the almost 600 members of parliament is a racial minority. There are none in the Senate.

Patrick Lozes, is head of CRAN, an umbrella association of black groups in France.

In the March municipal elections, Lozes claims that the two leading French parties, the ruling UMP and the opposition Socialists⁹, are fielding only a handful of minority candidates, in the largest towns and cities of France. He believes they should be doing more.

Similar criticism is aired elsewhere in Europe. In Germany, where ethnic Turks make up about 10 percent of the population, they hold less than one percent of the seats in parliament. Minorities have even less clout¹⁰ in Italy and Spain, where immigration is a more recent phenomenon.

Even in Britain, often considered a European model for multiculturalism¹¹, politicians like Diane Abbott complain of only painfully slow progress. Abbott became the first female black member of Parliament 20 years ago. Today she is among only 15 minority MPs.

"The problem is racism¹² really. If 20 years after the first wave [of minorities entering British parliament] the wave has turned into a trickle¹³, you have to look at racism," she said.

Europe is closely following the elections in the United States, in large part, experts like Thomas Valasek say, because Europeans are hoping for a change from the Bush administration. And, says Valasek, an analyst¹⁴ at the Center for European Reform in London, many Europeans consider the two Democratic contenders, senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the best candidates for change.

"And when you look at the two Democratic candidates, of course Obama is the bigger embodiment of change than Clinton. And also frankly¹⁵ because of who Obama is. He's seen by many as the embodiment of the American dream," he said.

In Thiais, Bitan is also following Barack Obama and his chance of becoming America's first black president. But she doubts a Barack Obama will emerge in France anytime soon.

Bitan says France is ready to elect mayors or members of parliament who are a racial minority. But she says the country is not ready for an ethnic minority as president.

Pap Ndiaye, an expert on American politics at EHESS, the High School of Social Studies in Paris, says France lags behind the U.S. in terms of diversity in politics.

"It's changing, but extremely slowly given the conservatism of French political life and French political organizations that pay lip service to diversity but don't do much when it comes to appointing minority candidates to various positions," he said. 

Still, there are positive signs. Last year, President Nicolas Sarkozy selected an unusually diverse cabinet, choosing three women from African and Arab backgrounds for top posts, including justice minister.

In Italy, the fledgling New Immigrants Party is fielding candidates for April's parliamentary elections for the first time. And in the Netherlands, where two Muslims were selected to senior cabinet posts, another first, Coskun Coruz, a member of parliament who immigrated from Turkey, says the Dutch parliament is among the most diverse in Europe when it comes to minority representation.

Coruz too is looking at the U.S. election. If Obama wins, he believes, it might send a signal to Europe.

"Of course Obama give concrete evidence to the American dream. To be black and to become the next president of America. [It means that] if you work hard and you believe in yourself and you have a good message, there is always a possibility to reach a high position," he said.

Coruz has his own message for minorities in the Netherlands. If they're not happy with their situation, they must work for change. He says ethnic immigrants must learn how to be European citizens. Coruz, who arrived in the Netherlands from Turkey at age six, now says he feels "200 percent Dutch."

1 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

2 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

3 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。

4 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

9 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

10 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

11 multiculturalism   

n.多元文化

参考例句：

• Switzerland is well known for cheese fondue, penguin parades and its multiculturalism. 瑞士一向以芝士火锅，企鹅游行和多元文化等特色闻名于世。
• That may be one reason why multiculturalism came easily to it. 这也是多元文化容易适应发展的原因之一。

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。