VOA慢速英语2019 谁能强迫英国首相辞职?

Explainer: Can Anyone Force British Prime Minister May to Resign?

British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing widespread pressure to give up power, but can her lawmakers force her from office?

英国首相特蕾莎·梅（Theresa May）面临着各方要求她辞职的压力，但是议员们能迫使她下台吗？

May has already promised she will resign and let someone else negotiate Britain’s future relationship with the European Union (EU). She has agreed to set out details for the end of her leadership. But she first wants another vote in parliament on her plan for separating from the EU. That vote would be held in early June.

首相承诺将辞职并推举其他人继续就英国未来与欧盟的关系进行谈判。她已同意为其任期的结束制定细节。但她希望议会首先就其脱欧计划再次进行投票。投票将于6月初举行。

Some lawmakers have strongly criticized May for attempting to relaunch her EU exit deal, an effort known as Brexit. They are unhappy with measures aimed at winning over opponents and members of her own Conservative Party.

一些议员强烈批评首相试图重启脱欧协议一事。他们对旨在获得对手和梅所在保守党成员支持的措施感到不满。

Some Conservative lawmakers now say May should resign immediately. Can her party force her out before she wants to go?

一些保守派议员现在表示，梅首相应该立即辞职。她所在政党的议员能强行将其赶下台吗？

Formal leadership challenge

正式的领导阶层挑战

Conservative Members of parliament cannot use the party’s normal process for removing the prime minister until December 2019. In December 2018, lawmakers tried and failed to remove May, and the rules say they must wait 12 months to try again.

保守党议员在2019年12月之前不能利用该党的正常程序罢免首相。2018年12月，议员们试图罢免首相，但没有成功，按照规定他们必须在12个月后才能再次尝试。

It is possible for the committee that represents Conservative lawmakers to change the rules of the process, but they have so far chosen not to do so.

代表保守派议员的委员会有可能改变这一程序的规定，但他们目前还没有这么做。

Vote of confidence

关于信任投票

Parliament can vote on whether it is supportive of May’s government. If a majority of lawmakers decide they do not, she could be forced to resign.

议会可以投票决定是否支持梅领导的政府。如果大多数议员投反对票，那么她可能会被迫辞职。

After losing a vote of confidence, there are 14 days in which she could try to hold onto power by winning another confidence vote. During this time, the opposition¹ Labour Party can also try to form its own government.

在失去信任投票后，梅有14天的时间可以通过赢得另一场信任投票来保住权力。在此期间，反对党工党也可以组建自己的政府。

A general election is called if no government with majority support in parliament can be formed after 14 days.

如果14天后议会中没有获得多数支持的政府成立，将会举行大选。

In January, the government survived a vote of confidence called by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. But there are no rules preventing Labour from calling another vote at any time.

今年1月，梅政府在工党领袖杰里米·科尔宾（Jeremy Corbyn）发起的信任投票中胜出。但是没有规定禁止工党在任何时候再发起一次投票。

To succeed, a handful of Conservative lawmakers or members of the small allied² Democratic Unionist Party would need to either abstain³ or vote with the opposition to oust⁴ the government.

要想成功，少数保守派议员或规模较小的民主统一党成员需要投弃权票，或与反对党一起投票来推翻政府。

Some pro-Brexit lawmakers have suggested they might be ready to take this step. But it is unclear if this would happen in the event of a vote being called.

一些支持英国脱欧的议员表示，他们可能已经准备好走这一步。但目前尚不清楚，如果举行投票，这种情况是否会出现。

Losing a vote of confidence would not automatically force May to resign as head of the Conservatives, but politically it is unlikely she would be able to continue.

失去信任投票不会自动迫使梅首相辞去保守党领袖一职，但从政治上讲，她不太可能继续担任该职。

Peer pressure

党内的压力

Without an official method to remove May that does not risk a general election, Conservatives are looking at other ways to put pressure on her.

如果找不到官方途径让梅首相下台，且无需冒举行大选的风险，保守党将会寻求其他方法对首相施压。

May once said that Brexit would not be delayed beyond June 30. Yet she recently agreed with EU officials that Britain could remain a member until the end of October.

梅首相曾表示，英国脱欧延期不会晚于6月30日。然而，她近期与欧盟官员达成协议，英国在10月底之前可以留在欧盟。

These words have been used to make the case that she should resign. So have recent heavy losses by Conservative candidates in recent local elections. Political observers say the Conservatives are likely to suffer more losses in European parliamentary elections this week.

这些话落人口舌，借此要求她下台。在最近的地方选举中，保守党候选人遭受重创。政治观察家说，保守党在本周的欧洲议会选举中可能会遭受更多的损失。

Words in This Story

confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

abstain – v. to choose not to do or have something

automatically – adv. having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person

beyond – adv. on or to the farther part or side

1 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。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

4 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。