经济学人126:德国与欧元 默克尔之道

 　　Germany and the euro

　　德国与欧元

　　The Merkel method

　　默克尔之道

　　Two books that take a close look at the woman at the centre of the euro crisis

　　两本深入观察这位处于欧元危机中心的女人的书

　　Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship² Forged in Crisis. By Alan Crawford and Tony Czuczka.

　　《安格拉默克尔：危机炼成的总理之位》，Alan Crawford 和 Tony Czuczka著。

　　Europe's Deadlock³: How the Euro Crisis Could Be Solved—And Why it Won't Happen.

　　《欧洲之僵局：欧元危机能如何解决—以及为什么这不会发生》，David Marsh⁴著。

　　默克尔.jpg

　　ANGELA MERKEL, Germany's chancellor¹ since November 2005, is now the longest-serving national leader in the European Union. Her country is more dominant⁵ in the EU and the euro zone than ever. She is Germany's most popular politician, at home and abroad. She is unchallenged within her party, the conservative Christian⁶ Democratic Union (CDU). And she is coasting to another election victory in September.

　　安格拉默克尔，自2005年11月以来一直担任德国总理，是目前欧盟中任职时间最长的国家领导人。她的国家在欧盟和欧元区中比其它任何时候都要处于更加主导的地位。无论是在国内还是国外，她是德国最受欢迎的政治人物。在她所在的政党，保守的基督教民主联盟（CDU），无人能挑战她的地位。而且，她正在全国巡回，准备赢得9月选举的又一场胜利。

　　Yet she faces a huge and continuing problem: the euro crisis. This is the big test for her political legacy⁷. Making matters worse, many analysts⁸ now point fingers of blame at Germany. It is too austere⁹, too insistent¹⁰ on fiscal¹¹ consolidation¹² even in recession, too prone¹³ to put the burden of adjustment on deficit¹⁴ countries, too dominated by lawyers, not economists¹⁵. These complaints and her political longevity¹⁶ make Mrs Merkel an interesting subject for a book. Several have come out in German, but this work by Alan Crawford and Tony Czuczka, two Bloomberg journalists, is one of the first to appear in English.

　　然而，她面临着一个巨大且持续的问题：欧元危机。这是对她政治遗产的一场大考。更加糟糕的是许多分析家现在都将矛头指向了德国。它太过于紧缩，甚至在衰退时期仍太过于坚持财政整顿，太过于倾向将调整的重担让赤字国家去承受，太过于听从法律人士而非经济学家。这些抱怨加上她长久的政治生命，使得默克尔女士成为写书的有趣的话题。德国已经有一些该题材的书出来了，但这本由两位彭博社记者Alan Crawford和Tony Czuczka所著的书是英语世界中的第一本。

　　The two authors tell the euro story well, but their most interesting material is about her past. Such details, which include her upbringing in communist East Germany, her position as a woman in a man's world and her background as a research chemist, help to define her domestic politics and her approach to the euro. They also make her easy to underestimate: in 1998 she unsentimentally helped to push out her political mentor¹⁷, Helmut Kohl, the man who did most to create the euro. She may be slow-moving, but she has been more effective than many with more obvious flair¹⁸ and charisma¹⁹.

　　这两位作者对于欧元的故事讲述得很好，但他们最有趣的材料是关于她的过去。她在共产主义东德的成长教育、她作为一个女人在男人世界中的地位以及她作为一位化学家的背景，这些细节都有助于定义她的国内政治和她处理欧元的手法。他们也使得她容易被低估：1998年，她无情地帮助赶走了她的政治导师赫尔穆特科尔，科尔是为欧元的产生出力最多的人。她也许动作缓慢，但她总是比其它许多人更加有效果、拥有更多明显的才华和领袖魅力。

　　At home she is cautious, sceptical of government's ability to change things, solicitous²⁰ of allies and quick to cut down challengers. Despite preaching change to other EU countries, she is no radical²¹ reformer. Indeed, she has pulled the CDU leftward, partly out of conviction but also to create more coalition²² options and steal votes from the Social Democrats²³. In the euro crisis she has favoured small, slow steps. When she is in doubt or gets conflicting advice, her instinct is often to do nothing. As an easterner, she has often leant as much towards Poland as towards France, Germany's traditional EU partner.

　　在国内她是谨慎的，怀疑政府改革的能力，热切关心盟友以及对挑战者快速地斩草除根。尽管她游说其它欧盟国家作出变革，但她不是位激进的改革者。的确，她将CDU拉向左倾，部分是处于信念，但也是为了创造更多的结盟选项以及从社会民主党挖选票。在这场欧元危机当中，她偏向于小且慢的步伐。当她不确定时或是听到不一致的建议时，她的直觉常常是什么都不做。身为一个东德人，她常常更偏向于波兰，这个在欧盟中的德国的传统伙伴，而非法国。

　　All this may be fine at home, since Germany is humming along nicely. But it is problematic in the euro crisis. From its start in Greece in early 2010, Mrs Merkel has been reluctant to lead, careful of committing taxpayers²⁴' money and insistent on punishing the profligate²⁵. She has been bad at telling her voters how much they gain from the euro and how much they might lose if it falls apart. She has also favoured a simple morality tale of blaming fiscal incontinence for the crisis, when loss of competitiveness and failure to reform matter far more. And she has often found it hard to work with others: she eventually forged a relationship with France's Nicolas Sarkozy, but has not got on with his successor, Franois Hollande.

　　所有这一切在国内也许是可行的，因为德国一路都过得很愉快。但这对于欧元危机是有问题的。自从欧元危机于2010年初在希腊爆发，默克尔女士总是不大愿意领导，对花纳税人的钱很小心，坚持惩罚挥霍浪费者。她不善于告诉其选民他们从欧元中获益多少以及如果欧元解体他们可能损失多少。当面临竞争力丧失和改革失败这些更加紧要的事情时，她也喜欢以一种简单的道德故事的方式将危机归咎于不一致的财政政策。而且她也常常发现难于他人合作：她最终与法国尼古拉萨科齐打造了关系，但对于他的继任者弗兰西斯奥朗德则没有。

　　David Marsh's short book is a more sceptical take on the euro crisis. A seasoned Bundesbank-watcher and historian of the euro, he has long argued, as did the Bundesbank, that the single currency cannot work without fiscal and political union. Yet he acknowledges that this is unlikely to happen, not least because it would lack political legitimacy²⁶. So his preferred solution is to reduce the number of countries in the euro. But that too would not be easy, he concedes. In Berlin, the fear is that if any country quits, the euro could unravel²⁷ all the way to the Rhine. Mrs Merkel clearly still has much to do to save the single currency.

　　David Marsh的短篇书对于欧元危机更加持怀疑态度。这位经验丰富的联邦银行观察者和欧元历史学家，他与联邦银行一样，长期一来一直认为在没有财政同盟和政治同盟的情况下，单一货币是行不通的。然而他承认这不大可能会发生，主要是因为这缺乏政治上的合法性。所以他的首选方案是减少在欧元区中的国家数目。但这也不是容易的，他退了一步。在柏林，人们害怕的是，一旦有国家退出，那么欧元的解体将一路蔓延至莱茵河。很明显，默克尔女士仍有很多事情要做，以拯救这单一货币。

　　1.euro crisis 欧元危机

　　This year the euro crisis changed the equation for big banks.

　　2011年的欧元危机改变了大银行的等式。

　　That was welcome news at a time when the euro crisis appeared to be heating up again.

　　当欧元危机看来即将再度升温之时，这类消息受人欢迎。

　　2.prone to 倾于

　　The area is unstable²⁸ and prone to rock falls and landslides²⁹.

　　因为该地区地情并不稳定，易于发生岩石坠落和山体滑坡。

　　Italy is unusually prone to natural disasters.

　　意大利异乎寻常地容易受到灾难的袭击。

　　3.push out 推出；长出；开除

　　It's not easy to push out multiple updates to get the metrics up.

　　但是推出多样的更新来获得量的方面上升并不容易。

　　Companies sometimes do this to be able to push out program updates every few weeks.

　　有时，这些公司这样做是为了能每隔几周就能将其程序升级一次。

　　4.cut down 裁短；减少；把…砍倒

　　Cut down on newspapers newspapers serve their own end.

　　减少看报纸的时间报纸都是服务于自己的终端的。

　　A prescription³⁰ antidiuretic can cut down on nighttime urination if this is the only problem.

　　如果这是唯一的问题，抗利尿的处方可以减少夜间排尿。

1 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。

2 chancellorship   

长官的职位或任期

参考例句：

• For instance, Chien Wei-chang can perhaps still keep his post as professor but not the vice-chancellorship. 比如钱伟长，恐怕教授还可以当，副校长就当不成了。
• The first televised debate between candidates for the chancellorship was judged a draw last night. 昨晚竞选长官职位的第一场电视辩论以平局告终。

3 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

4 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 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。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 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。

9 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

10 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

11 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。

12 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

13 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

14 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。

15 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》

16 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

17 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

18 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

19 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

20 solicitous   

adj.热切的，挂念的

参考例句：

• He was so solicitous of his guests.他对他的客人们非常关切。
• I am solicitous of his help.我渴得到他的帮助。

21 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。

22 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。

23 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》

24 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

25 profligate   

adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者

参考例句：

• This young man had all the inclination to be a profligate of the first water.这个青年完全有可能成为十足的浪子。
• Similarly Americans have been profligate in the handling of mineral resources.同样的，美国在处理矿产资源方面亦多浪费。

26 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

27 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

28 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

29 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

30 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。