The mess Merkel leaves behind
默克尔留下的乱局
Only Otto von Bismarck and Helmut Kohl served longer as Germany's chancellor than Angela Merkel has. Bismarck forged an empire, and invented Europe's first public-pension and health-care systems along the way. Kohl oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany and agreed to the replacement of the beloved Deutschmark with the euro.
在历任德国首脑中，只有奥托·冯·俾斯麦和赫尔穆特·科尔的在任时间比安格拉·默克尔更长。俾斯麦建立了一个帝国，其间还开创了欧洲最早的公共养老金和医保体系。科尔则督促了东西德的重新统一，并同意用欧元代替德国人心爱的马克。
Mrs Merkel's achievements are more modest. In her 16 years in the chancellery she has weathered a string of crises, from economic to pandemic. Her abilities as a consensus-forger have served her country and Europe well. But her government has neglected too much.
默克尔夫人的功绩就没那么卓著了。在担任总理的 16 年里，她经受住了从经济危机到新冠大流行等一系列危机的考验。她促成共识的能力给德国和欧洲带来很大益处。但她的治理也存在太多疏忽。
Germany looks like a purring luxury car; pop the bonnet, though, and the signs of neglect are plain to see.*** Germany's most severe domestic problem is a failure to reform its pension system. Germans are ageing fast, and the baby-boomers will place an even heavier burden on the budget later this decade as they retire.
德国看起来像一辆隆隆作响的豪华车；然而，一掀开引擎盖，疏忽造成的痕迹显而易见。德国最严峻的国内问题是未能成功改革养老金体系。德国人口正在迅速老龄化，“婴儿潮一代”将在 2020 至 2029 年的晚些时候退休，届时这将会给财政预算带来更沉重的负担。
On climate change, Germany has also been sluggish, and still emits more carbon per head than any other big EU country, not helped by Mrs Merkel's shutdown of Germany's nuclear industry after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.
在气候变化问题上，德国也一直行动迟缓，人均碳排放量仍是欧盟所有大国中最多的。2011 年日本福岛核灾难后，默克尔夫人叫停了德国核工业，而这显然也“帮”不到德国。
Which German candidate, though, could do better than Mrs Merkel? Comfortable, cautious Germans seem uninterested in serious debate about the future. Crisis-management has become a substitute for initiative. Candidates have no incentive to highlight their country's looming problems.
然而，德国的哪位候选人能比默克尔夫人做得更好呢？舒适而谨慎的德国候选人们似乎对严肃讨论未来不感兴趣。危机管理已经取代主动作为。候选人没有动力强调国家迫在眉睫的问题。
The world should expect the coalition talks to last for months, poleaxing European politics while they drag on. And at the end of it all, Germany may well end up with a government that fails to get much done. That is the mess Mrs Merkel has left behind.
全世界都得做好心理准备，德国组建执政联盟的谈判可能会持续数月。而谈判久拖不决的同时，欧洲政界也会收到冲击。而当一切尘埃落定时，德国最终很可能会组建一个成不了太多事的政府。这就是默克尔夫人留下的乱局。
主编：迎迎
品控：Pita
审核：Seika
重点词汇
chancellor
/ˈtʃæn.səl.ɚ/
n. 总理；首相
英文释义：the head of the government in some European countries
forge
/fɔːrdʒ/
v. 缔造；锻造
搭配短语：forge a blade（锻造刀刃）
搭配短语：forge a good relationship（建立友好关系）
搭配短语：forge a bright future（开创美好未来）
reunification
/ˌriː.juː.nə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/
n. 重新统一
相关词汇：unify（v. 统一）
词根词缀：uni-（一个）
相关词汇：unisex（adj. 男女通用的）
词根词缀：-fy（使……）
搭配短语：to unify the system of national education
相关词汇：reunify（v. 重新统一）
词根词缀：re-（再一次）
replacement
/rɪˈpleɪs.mənt/
n. 代替
相关词汇：replace（v. 代替）
搭配短语：replace A with B（用 B 代替 A）
modest
/ˈmɑː.dɪst/
adj. 不大的；谦虚的
例句：He is modest about his achievements.（谦虚的）
英文释义：not very great or big
搭配短语：a modest amount of money（不大的）
weather
/ˈweð.ɚ/
v. 渡过（难关）；经受风吹雨打
词性拓展：weather（n. 天气）
例句：The brick has weathered to a lovely brown.（经受风吹雨打）
搭配短语：weather the recession（渡过）
consensus
/kənˈsen.səs/
n. 共识
近义词：agreement（n. 一致意见）
搭配短语：reach a consensus
serve ... well
对……有很大帮助
相关词汇：serve（v. 有用处，有帮助）
英文释义：to be useful or helpful
例句：His language ability served him well in his career.
neglect
/nɪˈɡlekt/
v. 疏忽
例句：He has neglected his child.
词性拓展：neglect（n. 疏忽）
purr
/pɝː/
v.（机器运行时）发出隆隆声；（动物）发出咕噜声
例句：A big Bentley purred along the road.（发出隆隆声）
pop
/pɑːp/
v. 猛地打开
词性拓展：pop（n. 砰的一声）
英文释义：to open sth. quickly
sluggish
/ˈslʌɡ.ɪʃ/
adj. 行动缓慢的，反应迟缓的
相关词汇：slug（n. 懒汉；鼻涕虫）
initiative
/ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.t̬ɪv/
n. 积极性，主动性
相关词汇：initiate（v. 发起）
相关词汇：initiate legal proceedings
incentive
/ɪnˈsen.t̬ɪv/
n. 激励，动机
相关词汇：Money is a major incentive in most occupations.
loom
/luːm/
v.（危机）逼近；（模糊、巨大、恐怖的东西）出现
英文释义：appear as a shadowy form, especially one that is large or threatening
例句：Vehicles loomed out of the darkness.（出现）
例句：An economic crisis is looming.（逼近）
coalition
/koʊ.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
n.（政党间的）联盟
poleaxe
/ˈpoʊl.æks/
v. 打击；用斧头砍
词性拓展：poleaxe（n. 斧头）
drag on
拖拉，磨蹭
例句：The court battle dragged on for years.
