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经济学人下载:德国,明天会更绿?

2011-06-23来源:economist

Germany's victorious Greens A greener future?明天会更绿?
Two state elections have upturned German politics两个州的选举反转德国政局

THE Greens are the “against party”. They are against a flashy rail project in Stuttgart, against nuclear power and, say their critics, against progress and growth. Yet on March 27th the party’s defiance paid off in stunning fashion. German angst over the nuclear disaster in Japan crested just as two south-western states held elections. In Rhineland-Palatinate the Green vote tripled, vaulting the party into government as junior partner of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which had previously ruled alone. In Baden-Wurttemberg 58 years of government by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) came to an end. The Greens will now take control of a state government for the first time.

德国的绿党是个“反对党”。他们反对斯图加特花哨的铁路工程,反对核能,而且据他们批评者称,他们反对发展进步。然而,就在3月27号这一天,他们的反抗获得了惊人的回报。西南部两个州举行选举之时,正值德国民众因日本核危机而担忧,在莱茵兰—普法尔茨州,绿党的得票数增至原来的三倍,使其成为该州原本唯一的执政党——社会民主党新的联合执政党。在巴登—符腾堡州,执政长达58年的基民盟(CDU)面临下台。绿党将首次成为该州的执政党。

This almost-unthinkable result is a big blow to Angela Merkel, the chancellor and CDU leader, who has lost the party’s crown jewel. Her pre-election decision to shut down seven nuclear-power plants looked panicky rather than principled, and may have made matters worse for the CDU. The elections were an even bigger setback for her coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP).But the SPD also has little to cheer about: its share of the vote was the lowest in half a century in Rhineland-Palatinate and the lowest ever in Baden-Wurttemberg, where it will become the junior coalition partner. Only the Greens have reason to celebrate.

这个意想不到的结果对安吉拉??默克尔是一个巨大的打击。作为德国总理和基民盟领袖,她失去了基民盟执政的一个传统重镇。她在选举前决定关闭七座核电站。这个决定更像是仓促之举而不是坚持原则,并使得基民盟的情势更糟。选举结果对她的执政伙伴自民党是个更大的挫折。然而社民党也没有什么值得庆贺的:他们在莱茵兰—普法尔茨州的得票率降至半个世纪以来的最低点;在巴符州的得票率则是有史以来的最低点。这使得社民党成为巴符州绿党的联合执政党。只有绿党有欢庆的理由。

The party’s offices in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg’s capital, look readier for protests and demonstrations than for the assumption of government responsibility. Yellow drums done up to look like nuclear-waste containers are stacked by the door. Bamboo poles for hoisting banners rest against them. Yet the ready-to-rally impression is somewhat misleading. Baden-Wurttemberg’s Greens are on the party’s “extreme realist” wing, says Dieter Fuchs of the University of Stuttgart.The incoming premier, Winfried Kretschmann, belongs to the Central Committee of German Catholics and to a traditional shooting club. His down-to-earth Swabian manner matches the state’s spirit better than did the conservative pugnacity of Stefan Mappus, the premier he defeated. The export-oriented Mittelstand has nothing to fear, he suggests. “You can be in the black with green ideas,” he said in an interview shortly before the election.

位于巴符州省会斯图加特市的绿党办公部门,看起来更像是在为抗议和示威作准备,而不是承担政府责任。做成核废料集装箱样子的黄色大鼓堆放在门口,对面放着举旗的竹竿。这种即将举行集会的印象多少会让人产生误解。斯图加特大学的迪特尔??福克斯说,巴符州的绿党属于该党中的“极端现实主义”派系。即将上台的总理温弗里德??科瑞奇曼是德国天主教徒中央委员会成员,并加入了一个传统射击俱乐部。他的斯瓦比亚现实主义做派,与败北的前总理史蒂芬??马普斯的保守好战相比,更契合该州的精神。他暗示出口导向型的中小企业无需恐慌。“你可以做一个持绿色观点的黑党。”他在选举即将开始前的采访中说道。