新西兰英语 74 National Party Wins

　　It was not a surprise last night to learn that the National Party won the election. The telephone polls¹ had been telling us for a long time that National would get around 45% of the vote and Labour about 34% and that was exactly right. National has 59 seats but needs 62 for a majority. National will form a coalition² government with the five members of ACT and United Future’s one MP, Peter Dunne, giving it 65 seats. A coalition is like a partnership³. ACT and United will be part of the government but in return for their support, they will want at least one Cabinet position, like Minister of Education. However, ACT is a right-wing party and National’s policies are more in the centre. It could be difficult for National to have an ACT minister because ministers are responsible for policy.
The Governor-General in New Zealand, who is the Queen’s representative, appoints the new Prime Minister, and John Key would like this to happen by November 17th. However, special votes do not get counted until November 22nd and a new government does not usually take over until after that date. Special votes include votes from New Zealanders overseas. In this election, the 200,000 special votes will probably not change anything. John Key wants to attend the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation) leaders’ conference in Peru on November 22nd. He says it is very important to talk with other world leaders because of the seriousness of the global financial crisis⁴.
Although the election result was not a surprise, on election night, there was one surprise. Helen Clark announced that she will not be the Labour Party leader any more. She won her Mt Albert seat so will be an MP but will let someone else become the leader. The members of the Labour Party will decide this themselves. Michael Cullen, deputy⁵ leader, has also announced that he will step down from his job. He will not become the next leader of the Labour Party.
For a long time, people have suggested that if Helen Clark leaves politics, she would easily find a job in some international organisation⁶ like the United Nations. She has always been interested in foreign affairs and has travelled widely to attend meetings of world leaders. Another possibility is a job as New Zealand’s ambassador⁷ to some country overseas and John Key has already agreed that his government could appoint her to a position like that at some time in the future. It will be interesting to see if she stays in Parliament for the next three years.

1 polls   

民意调查( poll的名词复数 )； 民意调查的结果； 投票选举； 投票数

参考例句：

• The two candidates are in a dead heat in the polls. 两名候选人在民意测验中势均力敌。
• Opinion polls indicated a two-thirds majority in favour of ratification of the treaty. 民意调查表明2/3 的多数票赞成批准这个条约。

2 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。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 deputy   

n.代理人，代表，副职；adj.代理的，副的

参考例句：

• John will act as a deputy for me during my absence.我离开期间，约翰将代理我的职务。
• She is the deputy headmistress of the school.她是那所学校的代理校长。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。