美国国家公共电台 NPR--Prime Minister Johnson will resign as the Conservatives' leader, British media report

Prime Minister Johnson will resign as the Conservatives' leader, British media report

Transcript¹

Johnson might try to stay on as caretaker prime minister for a few months until a new leader is selected. Johnson has faced mounting pressure to step down in the face of multiple political scandals.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The U.K.'s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will resign as leader of the Conservative Party today. That's according to reports in the British media. But Johnson might try to stay on as caretaker prime minister for a few months until a new Conservative leader is selected. Over the past 48 hours, Johnson has faced mounting pressure to step down in the face of yet another political scandal. More than 50 members of his own government resigned, saying they could no longer serve under him as prime minister. We're expecting a public statement from Johnson outside his residence, 10 Downing Street, relatively² soon. In the meantime, Willem Marx - reporter Willem Marx joins us now from London to bring us the latest. Hi, Willem. Are you with us?

WILLEM MARX, BYLINE³: Yes, I am. He's not made any public comments, of course, since he appeared yesterday, Leila. That was in the afternoon in front of a parliamentary committee that grilled⁴ him pretty aggressively about his position. During that time, he repeatedly said he'd not seek to remain as prime minister. But when he was asked point-blank whether he would still be prime minister come Thursday morning, this morning, he responded, of course. I don't want to sound pedantic⁵, but it's now past noon here in London. On that technical point, he's proven correct. But it's clear that after dozens of resignations yesterday from members of his government...

FADEL: Yeah.

MARX: ...Even more this morning, Johnson finally appears to have accepted his position is no longer tenable. And what's so interesting is that both his predecessors⁶, Theresa May and David Cameron, they did stay in office for some time as caretakers while a successor was chosen. Johnson seems to want to do the same thing. But there are many members of his own party today insisting that should not be allowed to happen in case he causes what they consider might be even more damage to their party and, indeed, the country.

FADEL: OK. So a lot of people want him out right now. And for months we've seen Johnson plagued with scandal. But what happened in the last week that's led to this point?

MARX: Well, the final straw seems to be focused on his behavior in response to allegations that a Conservative legislator had committed sexual misconduct last week. Johnson was seen by many in his own party as acting⁷ too slowly to censure⁸ that man, whom he himself had promoted to a senior government role. Then for days, Johnson's team denied that he'd been aware of previous similar allegations against that man but still chose to promote him. And eventually, he did acknowledge that he had promoted the man despite knowing about those allegations. But of course, by then, questions about his honesty, his integrity, his judgment⁹ had grown just too loud for most Conservatives to ignore.

FADEL: So what happens next, both for Johnson's Conservative Party and for the country?

MARX: Well, we should hear some more details from Johnson shortly. If he's allowed by Conservative legislators to stay in Downing Street as a caretaker, the party will spend the next couple of months selecting a new leader to replace him. That person will then automatically take his place as prime minister. But there's a chance that enough Conservatives will insist Johnson should leave Downing Street altogether as soon as possible, perhaps as soon as next week. They'll then appoint a temporary but experienced figure to step in over the summer to steady the ship of state while a new, long-term Conservative Party leader is elected.

FADEL: Is there any other way this could go?

MARX: Yeah. Well, there are people who've worked closely with Johnson this morning saying his word's not to be trusted. And, indeed, he's already been appointing new ministers in just the past hour as though he expects to stay in post for a while.

FADEL: Interesting.

MARX: And so if he were to make assurances today, then renege on them or seek to extend his time in Downing Street too long, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has just said the opposition¹⁰ parties in Parliament might ask Conservative lawmakers to join them in voting through a no-confidence vote in the government. And that would act as a kind of constitutional emergency ripcord that could trigger a new general election here, Leila.

FADEL: That's reporter Willem Marx in London. Thank you so much.

MARX: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

5 pedantic   

adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的

参考例句：

• He is learned,but neither stuffy nor pedantic.他很博学，但既不妄自尊大也不卖弄学问。
• Reading in a pedantic way may turn you into a bookworm or a bookcase,and has long been opposed.读死书会变成书呆子，甚至于成为书橱，早有人反对过了。

6 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

9 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。

10 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。