经济学人:葡萄牙上千民众抗议政府新的紧缩政策

 　　Austerity in Portugal

　　葡萄牙的紧缩政策

　　More pain, less gain

　　痛苦更多，收益更少

　　Yet another austerity budget raises concerns about future growth

　　但是另一轮预算紧缩引发了对未来发展的担忧

　　In happier days before the euro crisis, one government in Lisbon rebranded the Algarve as the Allgarve, hoping to appeal to English-speaking tourists. Now a Portuguese¹ wit suggests rebranding the whole country as Poortugal.

　　在欧元危机到来之前，日子还较为愉快，里斯本政府还将阿尔加维改名为Allgarve，希望吸引讲英语的游客。而如今，聪明的葡萄牙人建议，把整个葡萄牙改名为“穷葡萄牙”（poortugal）.

　　Amid furious protests and thundering editorials, such mordant² humour was a restrained response to the draft 2013 budget that Vitor Gaspar, the finance minister, presented on October 15th. To meet the targets agreed to by the “troika” of the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF, he wants “enormous” tax increases, including the raising of average income-tax rates by as much as a third.

　　财政部长维克多–加斯帕尔（Vitor Gaspar）于10月15日提交的2013年预算草案引发了强烈的抗议和雷鸣般的社论，在这种背景下，这一辛辣的幽默仅仅是对这一草案的委婉回应。为了达成得到三大巨头----欧盟，欧洲央行和国际货币基金组织同意的目标，加斯帕尔想要极大的提高税收，其中包括提高将收入税税率提高三分之一。

　　Seldom have protesters, economists³ and politicians been so united in describing the plans: “brutal”, “a crime against the middle class”, a “fiscal⁴ atomic bomb”. Few agree with Mr Gaspar’s claim that “this is the only possible budget” and that to question it is to risk being subjected to a “dictatorship of debt” with Portugal condemned⁵ to depend on its official creditors⁶ indefinitely.

　　抗议者，经济学家和政客很少如此团结。他们一致将这项计划描述为“残酷的”，“反中产阶级的犯罪”，一颗“财政原子弹”。加斯帕尔称，“这是唯一可能的预算”，质疑这项预算就是要冒险遭受“债务独裁”，葡萄牙会因无限依赖官方债权人受到谴责。但是很少有人会同意他的观点。

　　Yet most voters would agree with Mr Gaspar that to default on the country’s debt, as the radical⁷ left advocates, would be “catastrophic”. Even so, recent protests have been swelled⁸ by tens of thousands of mainstream⁹ voters who believe that squeezing working families is not just unnecessarily painful but is also choking off growth.

　　但是大多数选民会同意加斯帕尔的看法，认为如果像极右派提倡的那样进行债务违约的话将会带来“灾难性的”后果。但即使如此，近期成千上万的主流选民还是加强了抗议，他们认为压榨工薪阶层家庭不仅会带来没有必要的伤害，还会扼杀增长。

　　The critics have latched¹⁰ on to the latest outlook from the IMF in which the fund argues that, in today’s economic climate, fiscal consolidation¹¹ is having a bigger negative impact on growth than usual. The opposition¹² Socialists¹³ believe this perfectly¹⁴ describes Portugal’s predicament. They want more time to meet budget targets, on top of an extra year granted last month. More worrying for Pedro Passos Coelho, the prime minister, is that the IMF line is echoed by President Anibal Cavaco Silva, also from the centre-right, who has written that it is wrong to pursue deficit¹⁵ goals “at any cost”.

　　批评者抓住了国际货币基金组织最新的展望，该基金会称，在如今的经济形势下，财政巩固带来的消极影响要比平常的时候更大。社会主义反对者认为，这极为恰当的描述了葡萄牙的困境。除去上月同意增加的一年外，他们想要更多的时间来实现预算目标。而更令总理佩德罗·帕索斯·科埃略担心的是，国际货币基金组织的说法得到了极右派总统阿尼巴尔·卡瓦科·席尔瓦（Anibal Cavaco Silva）的赞成，他曾用写过，“不惜任何代价追求”追求赤字目标是错误的。

　　Another concern is the rift¹⁶ in the coalition¹⁷ over the budget. The conservative People’s Party, junior partner to Mr Passos Coelho’s Social Democrats¹⁸, wants more public-spending cuts (new revenues account for 80% of the 2013 fiscal adjustment). The two parties must vote together to get the budget through parliament. But Mr Gaspar insists there is “no room for manoeuvre”.

　　另一个担忧是联合政府在预算问题上的分歧。芭苏丝·科埃略（Passos Coelho）领导的社会民主党的初级合作伙伴保守人民党想要进一步削减公共开支（2013年预算调整中，新收入占据80%）。两党必须共同投票让议会通过预算。但是加斯帕尔坚持“不允许耍任何花招”。

　　Some say that his intransigence¹⁹ is more for form than for fiscal doctrine²⁰. Unlike Greece, Portugal has gained much kudos²¹ in Brussels and Berlin for being a model pupil for the euro zone. That could help it if and when the Spanish government requests a bail-out—and starts to argue with the troika about whether ever more fiscal austerity is really sensible.

　　有人说，他拒绝妥协更多的是做做样子，而不是出于财政理论。与希腊不同，葡萄牙一直是欧元区里的模范生，在布鲁塞尔和柏林都获得了很多赞赏。如果西班牙政府要求紧急援助，并且开始与三巨头争论进一步的财政紧缩政策是否真正明智，或在出现这种情况的时候，葡萄牙会因此受益。

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 mordant   

adj.讽刺的；尖酸的

参考例句：

• Actors feared the critic's mordant pen.演员都惧怕这位批评家辛辣尖刻的笔调。
• His mordant wit appealed to students.他那尖刻的妙语受到学生们的欢迎。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 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》

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

9 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。

10 latched   

v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上）

参考例句：

• The government have latched onto environmental issues to win votes. 政府已开始大谈环境问题以争取选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He latched onto us and we couldn't get rid of him. 他缠着我们，甩也甩不掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

12 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。

13 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 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。

16 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

17 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。

18 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》

19 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

20 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

21 kudos   

n.荣誉，名声

参考例句：

• He received kudos from everyone on his performance.他的表演受到大家的称赞。
• It will acquire no kudos for translating its inner doubts into hesitation.如果由于内心疑虑不安而在行动上举棋不定，是得不到荣誉的。