VOA标准英语2015--Greece Could Shift to Left in Election

 

Greece Could Shift to Left in Election

LONDON—

Greek voters will cast ballots¹ on Sunday to elect a new parliament, with opinion polls indicating they could put a leftist party in power that would take a harder line with the country’s creditors² in an effort to end years of austerity and recession.

The Greek election campaign has been largely focused on Alexis Tsipras whose enthusiastic supporters have lifted his Syriza party from 5 percent a few years ago to about 30 percent now.

“Give us a mandate³ to rule so we can put an end to the catastrophic bailouts and  be able to negotiate," he said. "Vote for stability!  Give us the power to take Greece to new levels. Give Syriza the majority!”

But Syriza is not likely to win a majority, and may not even emerge as the largest party in parliament. That may be New Democracy, the current coalition⁴ leader, headed by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.  

And either one of them will likely need a coalition partner — from the left …from one or two centrist parties …or from the right, or possibly even from the extreme right wing New Dawn party, which is polling up to 6 percent even though its leaders are in jail.

The Greek electorate⁵ is polarized after years of economic hardship that the major parties have not been able to end, and Syriza has been the major beneficiary, says Professor Spyros Economides of the Hellenic Observatory⁶ at the London School of Economics.

“It’s more than a protest party," he said. "It’s a party which has grown on the back of a great dissatisfaction with the old establishment parties that ruled Greece for 40 years, and also with a deep dissatisfaction with the current economic and social crisis that Greece finds itself in.”

That crisis can be seen on an Athens street, where volunteers provide food for the poor and unemployed⁷. One of them, Constantinos says he doesn't care who gets elected.

"No matter who gets elected, I will continue to be unemployed, I will continue to not have a single euro in my pocket," he said. "And there are millions like me, half of Greece.”

Maria, an unemployed Athens resident, says she won't even go to vote.

"Why should I?  Do any of them care about me?  I never knocked on doors begging," she said. "I didn't want to. I can’t even listen to them. I’m not interested.”

Scenes like these on Athens streets, and a large vote for a sharp change of direction, could enable a Syriza-led government to get new concessions⁸ from creditors, says European affairs expert Ramon Pacheco Pardo of London’s King’s College.

“A Syriza government will have a strong hand to play against the European Union," said Pardo. "Any government run by Syriza, either by itself or in coalition, will have the popular mandate and therefore would have leverage⁹.”

That is what Greeks need, after years of austerity and recession. But experts say getting concessions won’t be easy. And more frustration¹⁰ could push a Syriza-led government toward extreme steps, like withdrawing from the euro or even from the European Union. It could be a recipe for political instability, which some say would be the worst outcome of all.

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 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。

5 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

10 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。