正文
英国议会辩论才是嘴炮最高境界
《奇葩说》以其“针对性”议题和辩手的独特风格在一众节目中独领风骚(表白wuli如晶宝贝~)。围观的吃瓜群众纷纷表示,原来辩论赛还可以这样打。然而,这就是“舌灿莲花”的最高境界了吗?
双语君只想说,少年郎,你还是太年轻了。来看看大腐国的议会辩论,这才是真·大手啊。
意见不和?没关系,我们可以甩出来《毛选》教对方好好做人。
议会起源
说到英国议会辩论,双语君就不得不开始讲古了。英国议会辩论的传统与议会制的确立是分不开的。
The earliest origins of Parliament grew out of the ancient government institutions of Anglo-Saxon and Norman England. The Anglo-Saxons, understanding the need for decentralised power, used a system called the witenagemot.
议会的最早起源可以追溯到盎格鲁撒克逊人和诺曼统治时期的政府机构。盎格鲁撒克逊人十分了解分散权力的重要性,使用了"贤人会议"的方式进行平衡。
In 1215, the tenants-in-chief secured Magna Carta from King John. In Magna Carta, a royal council was set up which gradually developed into a parliament.
1215年,诸侯胁迫约翰国王签署了《自由大宪章》,设立由二十四位诸侯组成的常设委员会,以监督约翰对大宪章的承诺,使议会的形成又往前推进了一步。
Simon De Montfort's Parliament was the first Parliament to summon representatives from towns.
13世纪60年代,西蒙·德·蒙福尔第一次召集市民代表,参与议会,这也是英国历史上第一次真正意义上的议会。
1640年,英国资产阶级革命后,议会制度最终确立。
两院制
英国议会建立初期,贵族和平民的利益无法平衡,于是设立由贵族组成的上议院(the house of Lords)和以平民组成的下议院(the house of Commons)以互相制衡。
从1341年起,议会实行两院制(bicameralism [bai'kæmərə,lizəm]),由君主、上院和下院组成,行使国家的最高立法权。
The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, consisting of members of the peerage and life peers who are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.
上议院由两部分人组成:一部分是神职贵族,由英国教会的高级教士构成;另一部分是世俗贵族,由英国的贵族阶级成员及君主在首相建议下授予的“终身贵族”成员构成。
The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The UK public elects 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws, and can scrutinise government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in Committees.
下议院成员则是由民主选举产生,至少每五年换届一次。英国民众选举650名众议院成员(MP)来代表他们的利益。众议院成员需商讨和提出新的法律,可以在下议院会议厅或者议会上通过质询大臣们热点事件来考察政府的政策。
下议院的第一大反对党往往被冠以“女王的反对党”的称谓,代表着议会的反对力量,和执政党政府针锋相对,他们还有权设立“影子内阁”(Shadow Cabinet)。
The Shadow Cabinet consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the Cabinet. It is the Shadow Cabinet's responsibility to criticise the policies and actions of the government, as well as offering an alternative program."
影子内阁"由反对党领袖领导,组成人员均为反对党,组成一个现任政府之外可供选择的内阁。其组成成员与内阁的职务一一对应,"影子内阁"有责任批评现任政府的政策和行动,提出其他可选择的政策方案。
“影子内阁”的领导者称为“影子首相”(shadow minister),旗下有“影子财政大臣”、“影子外交大臣”等等,文首的视频就是工党影子财政大臣麦克唐奈进行诘责的一段视频。
首相问答
首相问答(Prime Minister's Questions,简称PMQ)是英国议会的一项传统,自19世纪开始运行至今,丘吉尔设定了固定时间问答的传统,当时每周二和周四下午各15分钟时间进行首相问答。自布莱尔当选首相后,首相问答时间改到每周三中午12点,时长为30分钟。
Prime Minister's Questions (often abbreviated to PMQs and officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting, during which the Prime Minister spends around half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs).
首相问答(简写为PMQs)是英国的一项宪法传统,现在每周三中午举行,下议院成员端坐,而首相花费半个小时的时间来回答下议院成员的问题。
The first formal question on the Order Paper, posed by simply saying "Number one, Mr. Speaker", is usually to ask the Prime Minister "if he will list his engagements for the day". The Prime Minister usually replies:
议事日程表上第一个正式问题一般都是问“首相大人是否可以列出今天的行程”,而提出问题一般都是说“议长大人,第一个问题(Number one, Mr. Speaker)”而首相一般会回答:
“This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.”
今早我和内阁成员及其他成员开了会,除了完成议会的其他职责外,我今天晚些时候还有一些这样的会议。
Before listing his engagements, the Prime Minister sometimes extends condolences or offers congratulations after significant events. Occasionally the first question tabled is on a specific area of policy, not the engagements question.
如果重要事件发生的话,在列举行程之外,首相还会表示哀悼或者庆贺之类的。偶尔,议事日程表上第一个问题是聚焦在政策的某一个具体领域,而不是议程问题。
议员在议会上的发言,理论上都是向议长陈述,多以“Mr. Speaker”开头,指代多方多用He或者the gentleman。执政党非极端情况下不会积极质询首相,议员用起立来引起议长注意,议长起立发言时,所有议员必须无条件坐下。
上下议院都禁止鼓掌表示赞同,对回答表明满意或不满可以用Yayh[jeɪ]和Nayh[neɪ]来表示。(特别像德云社的观众异口同声地发出“吁~~~”那一声。)
实际上,议会辩论的整个过程都像在说相声,唇枪舌剑,充满了英式幽默和嘲笑讥讽。开篇视频中,掏出毛选抨击对方的一幕就是极好的例子。
我们现在就来看一段首相问答的经典程序,看看卡梅伦是怎样应对议员的刁钻质问的,同时了解一下英国议会是如何为(da)民(zui)服务(pao)的。
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