经济学人:英国脱欧带伤闯关前途叵测(1)

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Into the endgame 进入尾声

How Parliament should weigh up the Brexit deal 英国议会应该如何权衡退欧协议

At last, Britain’s game of three-dimensional chess with the European Union is entering its closing phase. 最终，英国与欧盟的三维棋局正进入最后阶段。

On November 14th the two parties published a draft divorce agreement, 585 pages in length. 11月14日，双方公布了一份长达585页的脱欧协议草案。

Nearly two-and-a-half years after the British shocked their own government by voting to leave the EU, they are about to discover what Brexit really means. 在英国投票退出欧盟震惊本国政府近两年半后，他们即将发现英国退欧的真正含义。

The game is by no means over. 游戏绝不可能结束。

The deal still has to be agreed by the EU and, harder still, by the British Parliament. 该协议仍需得到欧盟的同意，更困难的是英国议会的同意。

Several ministers, including the Brexit secretary, resigned in protest; Theresa May could yet be toppled. 包括英国退欧大臣在内的几位部长辞职以示抗议；特雷莎·梅可能会被推翻。

MPs must grapple with multiple loyalties¹: to their constituents², their parties and their own beliefs, all of which are likely to have shifted since the referendum. 议员们必须与多重忠诚做斗争:选民、政党和自己的信仰，这些都可能在公投后发生改变。

Within weeks they will have to make the biggest decision facing Britain, and one of the biggest for Europe, in generations. 几周内，他们将不得不做出英国乃至欧洲几代人以来最大的决定。

If the country has learned anything since 2016, it is to look before it leaps. 自2016年以来，如果说英国学到了什么，那就是三思而后行。

Yet, in what well summed up the level of debate on Brexit, hardline Leavers and Remainers alike trashed the deal before they had read a word of it. 然而，在英国退欧辩论的激烈程度上，强硬的退欧派和留欧派在还没读到一字之前就把协议搞砸了。

This makes no sense. 这毫无道理。

The terms of the divorce will take time for MPs and those they represent to digest— 对于议员和他们所代表的人来说，脱欧条款需要时间来消化。

and they may well be amended³ by European leaders before Parliament has its vote. 在议会投票之前，欧洲领导人很可能会修改这些条款。

Nor is it clear what would happen in the event that the deal were voted down: 也不清楚如果交易被否决会发生什么：

more negotiating, a second referendum or crashing out without a deal? 更多谈判、第二次公投，还是没有达成协议就崩溃?

But as the crunch⁴ vote nears, MPs must consider how to approach this fateful question. 但随着关键投票的临近，议员们必须考虑如何处理这个重大问题。

First, forget the past. 首先，忘记过去。

The cheating that went on during the campaign, the premature⁵ triggering of Article 50 and the thin preparations are maddening. 竞选期间的作弊行为、第50条的过早触发以及准备不足都让人抓狂。

But they are questions for the inquiry⁶ that will surely one day dissect⁷ this national fiasco. 但这些都是调查的问题，有朝一日肯定会剖析这场全国性的惨败。

The task before Parliament is to decide in a cool-headed way whether adopting the terms on offer is better for the country than rejecting them. 摆在议会面前的任务是冷静地决定，接受所提供的条款是否比拒绝它们对国家更好。

 

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