組閣僵局結束 默克爾將開始第四任期
Angela Merkel is heading for her fourth term as chancellor of Germany, after two-thirds of members of the Social Democratic party voted in favour of a grand coalition with the veteran leader’s conservative bloc.
安格拉?默克爾(Angela Merkel)將開始她作爲德國總理的第四個任期，此前三分之二的社民黨(SPD)成員投票贊成與這位資深領導人所屬的保守派政黨集團組成大聯合政府。The vote, which ends five months of political stalemate in Berlin, could help restore Germany’s leadership role in Europe at a time of mounting challenges, including a looming trade war with the US, rising tension over Brexit and French demands for an overhaul of the eurozone.
該投票結束了柏林爲期五個月的政治僵局，可能有助於恢復德國在歐洲的領導地位。歐洲目前面臨多重挑戰，包括與美國之間一觸即發的貿易大戰，圍繞英國退歐不斷加劇的緊張局勢，以及法國要求徹底改革歐元區。Emmanuel Macron, French president, said the result was “good news” for Europe, adding that France and Germany would work together to “push the EU project forward”.
法國總統埃馬紐埃爾?馬克龍(Emmanuel Macron)表示，該結果對歐洲來說是“好消息”，並表示法國和德國將共同努力“推動歐盟計劃向前發展”。
Olaf Scholz, interim party leader and the man expected to become Germany’s next finance minister, said: “We now have clarity. The SPD will join the next federal government.”
社民黨臨時領導人、預計將成爲德國下一任財政部長的奧拉夫?肖爾茨(Olaf Scholz)表示：“我們現在具有了清晰度。社民黨將加入下一屆聯邦政府。”Ms Merkel welcomed the decision in a tweet: “I congratulate the SPD for this clear result and look forward to working together for the good of our country.”
默克爾在推文中對這一決定表示歡迎：“祝賀社民黨取得這一明確結果，我期待爲了我們國家的利益而共同努力。”If she sees out a full term, Ms Merkel will have governed Europe’s biggest economy for 16 years. Parliament is set to hold a special session to confirm her new government on March 14.
如果默克爾幹滿一個任期，她對歐洲最大經濟體的執政時間將長達16年。德國議會將於3月14日舉行特別會議以確認她的新政府。After weeks of debate, SPD leaders struck a coalition deal with Ms Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, last month. But the party promised to submit the agreement to a vote of its 460,000-strong base, raising the prospect of a last-minute reversal that would have probably triggered another election.
經過數週的辯論，社民黨領導人上月與默克爾的基民盟(CDU)及其巴伐利亞姊妹黨基社盟(CSU)達成了一項聯合執政協議。但該黨表示，將把這一協議交由46萬名黨員投票表決，令結果可能在最後一刻逆轉，從而引發再次選舉。
Rejection of the coalition agreement would have dealt a blow both to Ms Merkel and the SPD, which had strong reasons to fear another ballot. Recent surveys gave the SPD only 16 per cent of the vote, more than four points below the party’s disastrous showing at last year’s inconclusive general election.
拒絕聯盟協議將對默克爾和社民黨雙方都造成沉重打擊，因爲他們有充分理由擔心再次選舉。近期調查顯示，社民黨僅能獲得16%的選票，比該黨在去年未能產生明確勝者的大選中災難性的得票率還低了4個百分點以上。Both CDU/CSU and the SPD suffered heavy losses in the September ballot, which saw the far-right Alternative for Germany emerge as the third-strongest party in the Bundestag.
基民盟和基社盟以及社民黨在去年9月份的投票中都失去很多席位，而極右翼的德國新選擇黨(AfD)成爲聯邦議院(Bundestag)第三大政黨。Yesterday’s result will be seen as a vote of confidence in the new SPD leadership around Andrea Nahles, the head of the SPD parliamentary group who is set to take over as party chief next month.
昨天的結果將被看作是對安德烈婭?納勒斯(Andrea Nahles)所領導的新一屆社民黨領導層的信任投票，這位社民黨議會黨團負責人將於下月接任黨魁。
