VOA标准英语2009年-Merkel Leads Polls Ahead of German Nationa

By Sonja Pace
Berlin
24 September 2009

 
German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel (File)
Germans are voting September 27 for a new parliament and with it a new government. Incumbent² Chancellor Angela Merkel has been leading in pre-election polls, but her foreign minister is also vying³ for the top job. Both Ms. Merkel's Christian⁴ Democratic Union and Frank Walter Steinmeier's left-of-center Social Democrats⁵ are looking ahead to possible coalitions⁷. Voters are worried about Germany's economy and its involvement in Afghanistan.

Posters, slogans, campaign promises - from candidates vying for support from Germany's more than 62 million eligible⁸ voters.

At stake are all seats in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, and with that a new government.

So, what are voters concerned about?

 
German voter
"For me, the big issue is if we can manage to restructure the economic system - to get more people into jobs and to make sure the country doesn't fall apart," one voter said.

Like most countries, Germany has been hit by the global economic crisis. Even though recent figures show the country is pulling out of recession, Germans are worried, says political analyst⁹ Nils Diederich of Berlin's Free University. "It's astonishing that most people say that they personally don't feel problems with this issue [feel directly affected], but there are fears that in the future unemployment and other problems could come to the people," he says, "and so economic problems are the main topic of this election."

Incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel has been leading in the polls. She hopes her center-right Christian Democratic Union win enough seats to put together her coalition⁶ of choice, with the pro-business Free Democrats. 

Her main opponent is one of her current coalition partners, Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier from the left-of-center Social Democrats.

The past four years, Germany has been ruled by a grand coalition of the two main parties - the conservative CDU and the left-leaning SPD - but opinion polls show Germans are disenchanted with this arrangement.

 
Nils Diederich
"If you have coalitions, you have to compromise, and compromises make decisions unclear," Diederich said.

That, says Diederich, means voters often do not really understand the decisions being made, and that makes for uncertainty¹⁰.

And Germany's involvement in Afghanistan has become an issue, after the recent incident in Kunduz, where German commanders called in a NATO air strike against Taliban fighters that also killed civilians¹¹.

Germany's involvement in the war is an issue on the minds of voters. "With the involvement of our military, I ask myself if Afghanistan is really so important, just as we asked ourselves if Iraq was handled well," a German voter said.

Germany has 4,500 troops in Afghanistan and most Germans want them out.

"It's a feeling in the majority of voters that Germany should leave Afghanistan as quickly as possible," Diederich adds.

German voters may not be happy with the coalition they now have, and they may have misgivings¹² about the future. But many still take voting seriously.

 
German voter
"I think if you're not interested in voting you have yourself to blame, if we end up with some terrible government," another German voter comments, "It's the only way to make our influence felt."

German voters will have the final say on who sits in parliament and which parties form a coalition to lead the next government.

1 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。

2 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。

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 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》

6 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。

7 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

8 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

9 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。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》