2019年经济学人 欧盟的最高职位(2)

 

A more complex political landscape puts both of these conventions in doubt. The top lot in the parliament is now, as before, the European People’s Party (EPP), a group consisting mainly of Christian¹ Democrat² parties. But the EPP won only 24% of the seats, which hardly justifies³ an exclusive claim to lead the commission. And the Rubik’s routine cannot hope to capture the variety of political families and regional patterns in today’s Europe. Even if a token southerner were appointed, for example, the difference between a candidate from pro-European Spain and one from Eurosceptic Italy might be vast. If Christian Democrats⁴, Social Democrats and Liberals all get to run things, the only slightly smaller Greens will understandably object. The cube has too many dimensions.

更复杂的政治环境使这两项公约都受到质疑。和以前一样，欧洲议会的突出团体是欧洲人民党(EPP)，这是一个主要由基督教民主党组成的团体。但是欧洲人民党只赢得了24%的席位，这很难成为领导欧盟委员会的唯一理由。而魔方的套路也不可能捕捉到当今欧洲政治家族和地区格局的多样性。例如，即使一个象征性的南方人被任命，亲欧洲的西班牙和疑欧的意大利的候选人之间的差异也可能是巨大的。如果基督教民主党、社会民主党和自由主义者都能掌控局面，那么只有规模稍小的绿党会反对，这是可以理解的。这个魔方的尺寸太大了。

Perhaps that is just as well. For now, more than ever, Europe’s leaders should be concentrating instead on getting the right people for the job. President Donald Trump⁵ has questioned the transatlantic alliance, tariff⁶ wars threaten Europe’s prosperity, turmoil⁷ on its borders challenges its security, digital giants from China and America are dwarfing⁸ its firms, and economic storm clouds are once again gathering⁹ above the euro zone. Leading a more fragmented Europe through these difficulties—let alone reasserting its interests and relevance¹⁰ in the world—will require seasoned leadership.

也许这样也好。目前，欧洲领导人比以往任何时候都更应该集中精力寻找合适的人选。美国总统唐纳德?特朗普对跨大西洋联盟提出了质疑，关税战争威胁着欧洲的繁荣，边境动荡挑战着欧洲的安全，来自中国和美国的数字巨头让美国公司相形见绌，欧元区上空再次笼罩着经济风暴的阴云。领导一个更加分裂的欧洲度过这些困难，还有重申欧洲在世界上的利益和相关性，将需要经验丰富的领导。

The EU may not get it. Manfred Weber, the EPP’s candidate for the commission, has no executive experience and, judging by his association with Hungary’s authoritarian¹¹ government, poor judgment¹². If he falls short, leaders may offer the ECB presidency¹³ to another German, Jens Weidmann, a banker with über-hawkish views, to ensure that a German gets at least one of the top jobs. But that should not be a given. In a more meritocratic EU the commission presidency might go to Margrethe Vestager, the dynamic (Danish) competition commissioner¹⁴. Antonio Costa of Portugal, Leo Varadkar of Ireland or even Mrs Merkel, all skilled compromise brokers¹⁵, might lead the council. At the ECB, a moderate like Finland’s Olli Rehn would be better than Mr Weidmann.

欧盟可能不会明白这一点。欧洲人民党委员会候选人曼弗雷德?韦伯没有行政经验，从他与匈牙利威权政府的关系判断，他的判断力很差。如果达不到要求，领导人可能会把欧洲央行行长职位交给另一位德国人延斯?魏德曼担任，以确保德国人至少能获得一份最高职位。魏德曼是一位银行家，持有极端鹰派的观点。但这不应该是理所当然的。在一个更加精英化的欧盟，欧盟委员会主席一职可能会交给充满活力的(丹麦)竞争事务专员玛格丽特?维斯特格。葡萄牙的安东尼奥·科斯塔、爱尔兰的里奥·瓦拉德卡尔、甚至默克尔夫人，都是老练的妥协经纪人，可能会领导委员会。在欧洲央行，像芬兰的奥利?雷恩这样的温和派会比魏德曼做得更好。

True meritocracy is improbable, alas¹⁶. National egos¹⁷ and power politics will always require some horse-trading. But as much as possible, the EU should focus on substance. From the eurozone and migration¹⁸ crises to the Brexit vote, the EU has had several brushes with mortality in recent years. More are doubtless to come. Its big jobs matter. Placeholders should not apply.

唉，真正的贤能统治是不可能的。国家的自负和强权政治总是需要一些讨价还价。但欧盟应尽可能关注实质内容。从欧元区危机和移民危机，到英国退欧公投，欧盟近年

1 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。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 justifies   

证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• Their frequency of use both justifies and requires the memorization. 频繁的使用需要记忆，也促进了记忆。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In my judgement the present end justifies the means. 照我的意见，只要目的正当，手段是可以不计较的。

4 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》

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 dwarfing   

n.矮化病

参考例句：

• In the Northwest, they are being planted by hedgerow on seedling roots, clonal and dwarfing stocks. 在西北部地区用灌木树篱把它接在实生砧、无性砧及矮化砧上。 来自辞典例句
• In the Northwest, they are being planted by hedgrow on seedling roots, clonal and dwarfing stocks. 在西北部地区把它接在实生砧、无性砧及矮化砧上。 来自辞典例句

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

11 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

14 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

15 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

16 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

17 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

18 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。