2015年经济学人 德国左翼党有望赢得图林根州州长选举

Germany's far left

Thuringia's November revolution

It may become the first state run by the heirs of East Germany's communists

Ramelow on the high road to power

NEXT weekend Germany celebrates the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Yet a few days before that, Die Linke (The Left), the party that descends² from the communists who ran the old East Germany,

may take charge of one of reunified Germany's 16 states (Thuringia) for the first time.

The mainstream³ parties treat The Left as pariahs⁴ in the federal Bundestag.

The party jeers⁵ from the backbenches and fights internal vendettas⁶. It hates capitalism⁷ and wants to scrap⁸ NATO.

In debates over Ukraine many Leftists have blamed America more than Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Their parliamentary leader, Gregor Gysi, refuses to call the East German regime an “unjust state”.

In state and local governments in eastern Germany, however, The Left has become a home for many Ossis (Easterners),

who tend to be apolitical and feel vaguely⁹ frustrated¹⁰. They vote Left partly for reasons of “Ostalgie”.

In Brandenburg The Left governs boringly as junior partner in a “red-red” coalition¹¹ with the Social Democrats¹² (SPD).

But Thuringia presents a new opportunity. In its election in September the Christian¹³ Democrats (CDU), the party of Chancellor¹⁴ Angela Merkel, came first, with 33%.

But The Left came a strong second with 28%. It could now eke¹ out a tiny majority if it combined with the other two left-leaning parties: the SPD and the Greens.

To many on Germany's centre-left such a “red-red-green” alliance is the holy grail at the federal level to replace governments led by Mrs Merkel.

In Thuringia (as in the rest of Germany) the CDU rules in coalition with the SPD. The SPD has paid dearly there, winning a meagre 12% of the vote in September.

So the state's Social Democrats want to try joining with The Left and the Greens instead.

Thuringia's 4,300 SPD members are expected to say yes to the idea on November 4th. The Left could lead its first-ever state government by December.

Its premier¹⁵ would be Bodo Ramelow. A western transplant in Thuringia, he personally brings no baggage from East German times.

And although he was a firebrand unionist once, he counts as a moderate by The Left's standards.

Thuringians fret¹⁶ less about him than about the stability of a government that would have only a one-seat majority.

The overarching question is whether a red-red-green government in Thuringia could foreshadow a similar experiment in the Bundestag (albeit with an SPD chancellor).

It would be much harder to do in national politics, where foreign and security policy cleaves¹⁷ a wide gulf¹⁸ between the two red parties.

And yet the SPD is in a terrible bind¹⁹. Increasingly, it merely holds the stirrups for others to mount: Mrs Merkel in Berlin, now Mr Ramelow in Erfurt.

The SPD's thirst for national power may yet force it to turn to The Left in the Bundestag.

1 eke   

v.勉强度日，节约使用

参考例句：

• They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。
• We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。

2 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

4 pariahs   

n.被社会遗弃者( pariah的名词复数 )；贱民

参考例句：

• Despite the trading frenzy, Fannie and Freddie have become pariahs. 尽管他们仍旧被疯狂的交易着，但是两房已经沦为末流。 来自互联网
• This effect remains until the Pariahs are eliminated. 直到贱民的这一个效果残余物被除去。 来自互联网

5 jeers   

n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They shouted jeers at him. 他们大声地嘲讽他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The jeers from the crowd caused the speaker to leave the platform. 群众的哄笑使讲演者离开讲台。 来自辞典例句

6 vendettas   

n.家族世仇( vendetta的名词复数 )；族间仇杀；长期争斗；积怨

参考例句：

• I'm not getting involved in your personal vendettas. 我没有牵扯到你们的私人恩怨里。 来自互联网

7 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

8 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

9 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

10 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 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》

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

17 cleaves   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This wood cleaves easily. 这木材好劈。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The water cleaves the banks away like a knife. 河水象一把刀似的，把两岸削掉。 来自辞典例句

18 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

19 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。