2014年经济学人 瑞典政府 生命短暂

Sweden's government

That was quick

Stefan Lofven's fall shows the strength of the far-right Sweden Democrats¹

IT WAS supposed to be the Swedish Social Democrats' triumphant² return. But two months after forming a minority coalition³ government with the Greens, Stefan Lofven, the Social Democratic leader, has been forced to step down as prime minister. The four-party centre-right opposition⁴ alliance enlisted⁵ the support of the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats to vote down his budget, pushing through a budget of its own instead. Mr Lofven might have let the other parties try to form a new government. But instead he plans to call an “extra” election on March 22nd.

Such high political drama is rare inSweden, where advance negotiations⁶ before parliamentary votes normally mean the budget passes with little fuss. The only previous special election was in 1958. Social Democratic-led governments, in particular, have usually sat out their four-year terms in an orderly fashion.

But Sweden has never before had to contend with a far-right party that enjoys as much support as the Sweden Democrats. The party is the third-largest in parliament. Without its backing, neither the centre-right alliance nor a coalition of the Social Democrats, Greens and the small Left party commands a majority. Worse, a new election could see the Sweden Democrats grow stronger, although the absence on sick leave of their leader, Jimmie Akesson, may count against them. The Sweden Democrats say they blocked the government's budget because it failed to meet their goal of cutting immigration by some 90%. They also accused Mr Lofven of shutting them out of discussions on the budget and other issues.

Mr. Lofven fired back, calling the Sweden Democrats' actions “utterly irresponsible”. And he promised that, should he be asked to form a new government, he will continue to freeze them out. The centre-right alliance, he claimed, would let them have a voice. Before the budget vote, Mr Lofven forlornly appealed to the alliance parties to avoid a crisis and reject support for their budget plans from the Sweden Democrats. But after a late-night meeting on December 2nd, they refused to negotiate over a new budget.

Mr Lofven may go down as the shortest-lived elected prime minister in Swedish history, and his Social Democrats, already at an all-time low with the electorate⁷, have lost more voter confidence. The larger questions are how much more the Sweden Democrats will transform a traditionally compromise-oriented political landscape and what happens if the March ballot⁸ produces a similar hung parliament. Mr Lofven seemed flummoxed by the far-right party's support for the alternative budget and by the alliance's unwillingness⁹ to negotiate, even though both had been well trailed. As a former trade unionist without political experience, he is used to consensus¹⁰, not crisis.

But if Mr Lofven was surprised by the outcome,Sweden's election authority was not. Even as the politicians were arguing, it pragmatically ordered six million envelopes for paper ballots¹¹ and began preparing for a new election. Swedish taxpayers¹² will pay about 250m krona ($33m) for the privilege of going to the polls again.

1 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》

2 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

3 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。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

8 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

9 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

11 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。