PBS高端访谈:英国首相特蕾莎·梅宣布提前大选 是否冒风险?

 　　As we reported earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced today she would ask for elections to be held this June, instead of in 2020. Jeffrey Brown has that.

　　The prime minister's request for snap elections was made with an eye towards shoring up her negotiating position,

　　as the United Kingdom heads into tough talks over the terms of its exit from the European Union.

　　After repeatedly saying she would not call for early elections, it was a move that took many by surprise.

　　From London, we're joined by Stephanie Baker¹, a senior writer at Bloomberg.

　　Stephanie, first with that surprise, how big was it, or even shock for many there, and how was it taken?

　　It was a big shock, and it was — a lot of people were surprised it hadn't leaked out beforehand.

　　As you noted² in your report, she, Theresa May, the prime minister, has ruled out an early election repeatedly over the past few months.

　　And people took her at her word. So even members of her own party were taken aback by the decision.

　　So, how fractured is the political debate there?

　　Was there a sense that she did this because she realized she needed a strong mandate³ in order to shore up her support over Brexit?

　　Yes. Her Conservative Party has a slim 17-seat majority in Parliament, and you know, I think she is taking a calculated bet here.

　　She's taken a look at the polls, which give her Conservative Party a 20-point lead,

　　and she thinks she could increase her majority in Parliament by picking up disaffected⁴ voters from the opposition⁵ Labor⁶ Party,

　　particularly those who supported Brexit in the north, to increase her majority, so that when she goes to Brussels to negotiate the U.K.'s exit from the E.U.,

　　she can come back with a deal, and not be attacked for any kind of compromises or, you know, negotiating conclusions by the hard anti-European wing of her own party.

　　And how big a personal risk is she taking? I saw that opposition figures were already painting her as a kind of opportunist trying to take advantage of things here.

　　Well, yes, I mean, I think she runs a personal risk of undermining her own credibility,

　　since she did say so many times that she wouldn't hold an early election, that the country didn't need another election, that it would undermine stability.

　　She does look like another politician who has gone back on her word, and I think that will play out during the campaign over the next seven weeks.

　　So, one of the big questions, of course, is to what extent this reopens the whole question of Brexit. How much will it be the subject of debate in this election?

　　I think that's what a lot of people are talking about now.

　　Traditionally, the U.K. has been dominated by the two main political parties, the Conservatives and the left-leaning Labor Party.

　　The Labor Party is in a current state of disarray⁷. It's led by a weak leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is regarded as very un-prime ministerial.

　　There is a third party called the Liberal Democrats⁸ who were part of a governing coalition⁹ between 2010 and 2015.

　　They have positioned themselves as the party of the remain vote,

　　that is, the 48 percent of British voters who backed staying in the E.U., and they are trying to turn this election into a kind of quasi-rerun of the referendum.

　　Whether or not they will be able to do that, how many seats they will be able to pick by running that strategy is unclear.

　　But, certainly, in areas like London and the South of England, which voted overwhelmingly for remain, they're likely to pick up quite a number of seats.

　　So it's hard to see how the balance will change.

　　And just briefly¹⁰, in 30 seconds or so, Stephanie, Americans, of course, are used to endless, years-long elections. This is June 8, so it's very quick.

　　It is. It's seven weeks of campaigning. Parties are going to have to be writing their election manifestos, getting fund-raising in place.

　　It will be incredibly quick. It is not unexpected. There were many people amongst all of the different parties who thought that she would call it.

　　The timing¹¹, of course, caught many people by surprise.

　　Stephanie Baker of Bloomberg in London, thank you very much. undefined

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

8 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》

9 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。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。