2015年经济学人 德国与希腊 如有必要就退出

Germany and Greece

Go if you must

Angela Merkel appears to have become more sanguine¹ about a Grexit

Merkel points the way for Samaras

IF THE Syriza party wins Greece's election on January 25th, most think the power to negotiate rests with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor². “A small minority, centred on the conservative leadership of the German government,” says Alexis Tsipras, Syriza's leader, “insists on rehashing old wives' tales and Grexit stories.”

So it seemed after German officials leaked to Der Spiegel, a weekly, their assessment³ that Grexit would not only be bearable but might even make the euro stronger. Other problem countries have weathered the crisis (Portugal, Ireland) or are making progress (Spain). The euro zone now has a bail-out fund and a banking⁴ union. German banks and insurers have reduced their exposure.

On January 5th Steffen Seibert, Mrs Merkel's spokesman, insisted that German policy had not changed: it still aimed to hold the euro zone together. Yet all sides are now debating Grexit. Some in Mrs Merkel's Christian⁵ Democratic Union (CDU) said giving in to Greece would encourage other countries, including France, to rebel against spending cuts and supply-side reforms. Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democrats⁶, Mrs Merkel's coalition⁷ partners, said Germany must not be “blackmailed”.

Other Social Democrats recoiled⁸ from this tone. So did the CDU's conservative Bavarian sister party. “We should not behave as a schoolmaster” to the Greeks, said Horst Seehofer, the Bavarian premier⁹. The whole discussion was “irresponsible”, warned Simone Peter, a leader of the Greens. Sahra Wagenknecht, a leader of the ex-communist Left party, which sides with Syriza, accused Mrs Merkel's government of “scare tactics” to influence the Greek election.

Carsten Nickel at Teneo Intelligence, a risk consultancy, thinks Mrs Merkel is trying to “send a strong signal toAthens” that aid would still be tied to reforms, but that she will be flexible. A deal with Mr Tsipras could include lower interest or longer maturities¹⁰ for Greek debt. But politics limit her room for manoeuvre¹¹. One change is the rise of the new anti-euro Alternative for Germany. It did well in state elections last year but is now riven by squabbles. Any softness on Greece will feed its support in Hamburg's election in February. Public opinion remains¹² sceptical. The tabloid¹³ Bild says that, if Greece can't play by the rules,Germany should show it the “red card”.

This is the tightrope¹⁴ Mrs Merkel must walk after January 25th. Until then, she is likely to keep quiet. Even Austria, usually as strident as Germanyon the euro, has struck a note of caution. Its finance minister, Hans J?rg Schelling, told a German newspaper that it was not appropriate to “meddle in the election campaigns of other countries”. That is the last thing Mrs Merkel can be seen doing.

1 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

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 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 recoiled   

v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回

参考例句：

• She recoiled from his touch. 她躲开他的触摸。
• Howard recoiled a little at the sharpness in my voice. 听到我的尖声，霍华德往后缩了一下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 maturities   

n.成熟（maturity的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Maturities of commercial paper range from three days to nine months. 商业票据的期限从3天到9个月不等。 来自互联网
• German federal government bonds issued with maturities of up to 30 years. 指期限可长达30年的德国联邦政府债券。 来自互联网

11 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

14 tightrope   

n.绷紧的绳索或钢丝

参考例句：

• The audience held their breath as the acrobat walked along the tightrope.杂技演员走钢丝时，观众都屏住了呼吸。
• The tightrope walker kept her balance by holding up an umbrella.走钢丝的演员举着一把伞，保持身体的均衡。