VOA慢速英语2016--土耳其总理表示自己将辞职

AS IT IS 2016-05-06 Turkey’s Prime Minister Says He Will Resign 土耳其总理表示自己将辞职

Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has announced he will not seek re-election as the head of the ruling party.

Davutoglu spoke¹ Thursday after a meeting of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in Ankara. He told reporters that a change in the position of chairman was needed for the good of the party. The ruling party leader also serves as the prime minister.

The move means that a new party leader will be chosen at the AKP party congress on May 22.

Davutoglu said, “I have no sense of failure or regrets in taking this decision.”

The prime minster said that his resignation was not “his choice but a necessity.” He noted² that there were no “hard feelings.” 

The prime minister suggested he will remain as a ruling party legislator. He also pledged loyalty³ to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Erdogan said that it was the prime minister’s own decision and he wished him well. 

The resignation is not effective immediately. The AKP will hold an emergency congress on May 22 to elect a new party leader who would take the place of Davutoglu.

President Erdogan and Prime Minster Davutoglu met late Wednesday but reportedly failed to smooth over their disagreements. Davutoglu has not been a strong supporter of some of Erdogan's policies. These include potential changes to the constitution to make the largely ceremonial presidency⁴ into a powerful position.

Relations between the president and prime minister have been tense. Turkish media had reported that Davutoglu was planning to visit the United States on May 2 to meet with President Barack Obama and Vice⁵ President Joseph Biden.

Some reports say this angered Erdogan and the visit was canceled.

The disagreement between the two politicians became especially strong last week. That is when the AKP’s 50-member executive committee stripped Davutoglu of his power to appoint local and provincial⁶ party leaders.

The problems between the two leaders come as Turkey deals with the influx⁷ of refugees from Syria’s conflict. In addition, the country is combatting violence linked to Islamic State and Kurdish militants⁸. It is also seeking to become a member of the European Union.

Words in This Story

pledge –v. a serious promise or agreement

smooth over –v. to make problems seem less serious

potential –adj. capable of becoming real

stripped –adj. having had something removed or taken away

influx –n. the movement of a large number of people

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。