经济学人:英国脱欧带伤闯关前途叵测(3)

 Hanging over this debate about the pros¹ and cons² of the deal is the question of what overturning it would do to the health of Britain’s democracy. 围绕该协议利弊的辩论一直悬而未决的问题是，推翻该协议将对英国民主的健康产生何种影响。

Parliament has the legal right to ignore the referendum. 议会有无视公投的法律权利。

But after a record number of people voted (to “take back control”, no less), it could be catastrophic for trust in mainstream³ parties if it were to do so. 但在创纪录数量的民众投票(至少是“夺回控制权”)后，如果这样做，对主流政党的信任可能是灾难性的。

In truth, the democratic argument is more complicated. 事实上，民主争论更加复杂。

The vote to leave was an expression not just of Euroscepticism but of a wider frustration⁴. 脱欧公投不仅是欧洲怀疑论的表现，也是一种更广泛的挫败感的表现。

It exposed divisions by age, region and class that the old left-right party divide had covered up. 它暴露了过去左右两党分裂所掩盖的按年龄、地区和阶级划分的分歧。

Far from bridging those divides, the bitter arguments since the referendum have if anything caused the two sides to move even further apart. 公投后的激烈争论非但没有弥合这些分歧，反而导致双方进一步分裂。

Overturning the vote would risk making them irreconcilable⁵. 推翻投票结果可能会使他们无法和解。

But adopting a Brexit deal like the one on offer would be unlikely to heal those wounds. 但是，采用英国退欧这样的协议不大可能治愈这些创伤。

Indeed, to the extent that the referendum was a howl by the left-behind against rule by remote and uncaring elites⁶, this form of Brexit could make those problems worse. 事实上，退欧公投在某种程度上是左派对遥远而冷漠的精英统治的抗议，这种形式的退欧可能会让这些问题变得更糟。

Anger at unaccountable rulers would not be assuaged⁷ by a deal in which Britain followed orders from people it could not elect. 对不负责任的统治者的愤怒不会因为一项协议而得到缓解，在该协议中，英国听从了它不能选出来的人的命令。

And those keen just to get the whole thing over with might find that Brexit marked only the beginning of national argument about the relationship with the behemoth next door. 而那些只想把事情办完的人可能会发现，英国退欧仅仅标志着围绕英国与隔壁巨头关系的全国性争论的开始。

Nor is it clear that the democratic thing to do is to hold people to the result of a two-year-old, narrowly won referendum, when the consequence of the vote has turned out to be quite different from what many voters expected. 投票的结果与许多选民的预期大不相同，表明继续人民坚持两年、以微弱优势赢得公投的结果是否民主。

Polls suggest that a small majority now prefers Remain to Leave; more might prefer Remain to a compromise like the deal on offer. 民意调查显示，现在有一小部分人倾向于留在欧盟而不是离开；更多的人可能更愿意继续留在欧盟，而不是像现有协议那样妥协。

Almost all MPs want to respect the will of the people. 几乎所有的议员都想尊重人民的意愿。

The question is whether the people’s will found its perfect and enduring expression in 2016, or whether it might have changed. 问题是，人民的意志是否在2016年得到了完美而持久的表达，或者它是否已经发生了变化。

There is no simple way out of this endgame. 没有简单的办法走出这一终局。

Whether the Brexit deal is accepted or rejected, it will scar Britain for years. 不管英国脱欧协议是被接受还是被拒绝，它都会给英国留下多年的伤痕。

And yet too many politicians are still grandstanding. 然而，仍有太多政客在哗众取宠。

Some Brexiteers still pretend there is a Plan B that would deliver a painless exit. 一些退欧派人士仍在假设存在一种无痛脱欧的“B计划”。

Labour is mainly concerned with forcing a general election. 工党主要关心的是强迫举行大选。

That needs to change, and fast. 这需要改变，而且要快。

This momentous⁸ decision must be made in the most reasoned way possible and with the maximum information available. 这一重大决定必须以最合理的方式作出，并提供尽可能多的资料。

Politicians of all stripes have spent the past two years talking about the national interest. 在过去的两年里，形形色色的政客都在谈论国家利益。

In the coming weeks they must weigh up where they think it lies. 在接下来的几个星期里，政客们必须权衡一下自己认为国家利益在哪里。

 

1 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 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 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 irreconcilable   

adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的

参考例句：

• These practices are irreconcilable with the law of the Church.这种做法与教规是相悖的。
• These old concepts are irreconcilable with modern life.这些陈旧的观念与现代生活格格不入。

6 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

7 assuaged   

v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静

参考例句：

• Although my trepidation was not completely assuaged, I was excited. 虽然我的种种担心并没有完全缓和，我还是很激动。 来自互联网
• Rejection (which cannot be assuaged) is another powerful motivator of bullying. （不能缓和的）拒绝是另一个欺负行为的有力动因。 来自互联网

8 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。