Hollande and Merkel Face Berlin Showdown

 　　LONDON - They will try to overcome policy differences as the threat of a Greek exit from the euro looms¹ closer

　　German Chancellor² Angela Merkel and France's President-elect, Francois Hollande, meet for the first time in Berlin Tuesday against the backdrop of renewed financial panic in the eurozone. The two leaders will try to overcome policy differences as the threat of a Greek exit from the euro looms closer.

　　To the euphoric cheers of his supporters, Francois Hollande secured his victory on a platform of anti-austerity politics. Unlike his predecessor³, Nicolas Sarkozy, there will be no post-election honeymoon⁴ on a Mediterranean⁵ yacht.

　　Just hours after being sworn in as president, Mr. Hollande will fly to Berlin to meet the very architect of Europe’s austerity program - German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is playing down their differences. She says that Franco-German cooperation is essential in Europe. And, she says since we all want Europe to succeed, this cooperation will start very soon.

　　Francois Hollande wants Europe to invest more in growth. He campaigned for the introduction of eurobonds and a more political, powerful European central bank. This puts the two leaders on a collision course, says Philippe Moreau Defarges of the French Institute of International Relations.

　　“Mrs. Merkel looks very determined⁶ not to accept, you know, the Hollande vision. Mrs. Merkel says, 'We must reestablish more healthy public finances. We must tackle the debt issue.’ And Mrs. Merkel will not move," he said.

　　French voters rejected the austerity program of their outgoing president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

　　Although his successor may be riding the crest⁷ of an anti-austerity wave, he does have an Achilles heel, says Olaf Cramme, director of the Europe analyst⁸ group, Policy Network.  “Hollande has a very strong democratic mandate⁹ but a very weak economic mandate. France has a lot of problems as far as current account balance of payments is concerned, the deficit¹⁰, unemployment etcetera, so he will also be constrained¹¹ to what he can do," he said.

　　Angela Merkel faces problems, too, after a bruising¹² election defeat in Germany’s most populous¹³ state on Sunday, just 18 months before national elections.

　　But it is the brewing¹⁴ storm in Greece that is stoking fears in Berlin and far beyond.

　　Greek parties are struggling to form a government and may reject the budget cuts insisted on by the European Union.

　　The prospect¹⁵ of Greece leaving the currency bloc¹⁶ is now openly under discussion in European capitals, unthinkable just a few months ago, says analyst Olaf Cramme. “What do we do with the Greeks? Do we change the terms of the bailout program? Do we give them more time? Do we inject more funds? That’s really controversial, and it’s where the Germans want Angela Merkel to be really tough," he said.

　　France and Germany have been the driving force behind European integration¹⁷. Analysts¹⁸ say their respective leaders will have to overcome their differences rapidly with the very survival of the euro at stake.

1 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

4 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 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。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

12 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

13 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

14 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

17 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。