导读:英国新任首相特雷莎·梅15日抵达苏格兰首府爱丁堡,与苏格兰政府首席大臣斯特金就国内联合以及英国“脱欧”等问题举行会谈。这是特雷莎·梅就职不到48小时首次离开伦敦。
GLASGOW — Theresa May visited Scotland on Friday in her first official engagement as Britain’s new Prime Minister in a clear indication of the strength of her commitment to maintaining the “special Union” between the United Kingdom’s four nations and people.
格拉斯哥报道——特雷莎·梅上周五首次以英国新首相的身份正式访问了苏格兰,清楚地表明了她对维持英国四部分与人民之间的“特殊联盟”的承诺和力度。
And the new Conservative Party leader will deliver a message to Scots, saying: “The government I lead will always be on your side.”
这位新的保守党领袖向苏格兰传递了这样的信息:“我所领导的政府将永远站在你们这边。”
May is holding talks with Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon in Bute House in Edinburgh, in which she will stress how she wants the Scottish government to form a central part of the Brexit process — Britain’s exit from the European Union.
梅首相在爱丁堡的布特大厦与苏格兰政府首席大臣尼古拉·斯特金举行了会谈,在会谈中,她强调她非常希望苏格兰地方政府在英国“脱欧”谈判中形成中心力量。
Ahead of her visit, May said: “I believe with all my heart in the United Kingdom; the precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This visit to Scotland is my first as prime minister and I’m coming here to show my commitment to preserving this special union that has endured for centuries.
在此次苏格兰之行以前,梅首相说:“我全心全意地相信英国;我相信英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰之间的珍贵纽带。这是我第一次作为首相次访问苏格兰,我到这里,是为了展示我会维护这个经历了几百年的特殊联盟的承诺。”
“I want to say something else to the people of Scotland too: the government I lead will always be on your side. Every decision we take, every policy we take forward, we will stand up for you and your family; not the rich, the mighty or the powerful.
“我还想对苏格兰人民说一些别的事情:我领导的政府将永远站在你们这一边。我们做的每一个决定、采取的每一项政策,我们都会为你和你的家人站出来;我们不仅仅为那些富有、强大或有权力的人服务。
“That’s because I believe in a union, not just between the nations of the United Kingdom but between all of our citizens. Whether it’s reforming the economy or strengthening our society, we are going to build a better Britain and a nation that works for everyone; not just the privileged few,” she added.
“那是因为我相信我们是一个联盟,这种关系不仅仅存在于英国四部分之间,更存在于我们所有的公民之间。无论是经济改革还是加强我们的社会,我们的目标都是要建立一个更好的英国,建立一个适合所有人的国家;而不只是少数人的特权。”她补充说。
However, the potential for an early intergovernmental clash is high as May has been adamant that “Brexit means Brexit” while Sturgeon has insisted, given Scotland voted strongly to stay in the EU, that from her perspective “Remain means Remain.”
然而,早期的政府间冲突的可能性依然很高。梅首相坚持认为,“脱欧就是脱欧”,而斯特金则坚持,鉴于苏格兰大多数人投票留欧,从她的角度来看,“留欧就是留欧”。
Within the government the new prime minister is regarded as a tough, no-nonsense negotiator. She is thought to have believed David Cameron caved in too easily to demands by the pro-independence Scottish National Party before and after the 2014 referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country.
在政府内部,新首相被视为强硬而严肃的谈判者。她认为大卫·卡梅伦在2014年苏格兰独立公投前后,太容易屈服于支持独立的苏格兰民族党的诉求。
One source, reflecting on the prospect raised by Sturgeon of a second independence referendum, said: “Theresa is a tough cookie and will not give ground as easily as David did.”
一个消息来源反映了斯特金提出二次苏格兰独立公投的想法:“特雷莎是个强硬的人,不像大卫那样容易让步。”
Sturgeon said she was hoping for a constructive discussion but stressed: “I respect how people in other parts of the U.K. voted; I hope the prime minister will respect how people in Scotland voted." Scotland voted to remain in the EU in the referendum last month. The U.K. overall voted to leave.
斯特金说,她希望能有一次建设性的讨论,但强调说:“我尊重英国其他地区人们的投票结果;我也希望首相能尊重苏格兰人们的投票结果。”苏格兰上个月通过公投决定留在欧盟。而英国整体投票决定“脱欧”。
"My job is to seek to protect Scotland’s interests and I’ve said I’m open to seeking to do that through the U.K. process. If I’m going to be able to do that, then she has to make the process open and flexible," Sturgeon said.
“我的工作是保护苏格兰的利益,我说过,我愿意通过英国来这么做。如果我能够做到这一点,那么她必须让过程灵活、公开。”斯特金说。
Sturgeon said a second Scottish independence referendum could be the only way to secure Scotland’s interests and protect its EU membership but stressed she wanted to "explore all options".
斯特金说,二次苏格兰独立公投可能是确保苏格兰利益、保护其欧盟成员国资格的唯一途径,但她也强调,她想“探讨所有的可能性”。
David Davis, the new secretary of state for Brexit, suggested Britain could quit the EU by December 2018, noting how a “brisk but measured approach to Brexit” was achievable.
新任“脱欧”大臣大卫·戴维斯表示,英国可能会在2018年十二月以前退出欧盟,并指出了“快速并慎重地脱欧”的实现方法。
Earlier this week, David Mundell, the reappointed Scottish Secretary, suggested he was open to Scotland having a different Brexit deal to the rest of the UK if it was “doable”.
本周早些时候,新任英国苏格兰事务大臣戴维·芒德尔表示,对苏格兰与英国其他地区在“脱欧”问题上的意见不合,如果可行的话,他持开放态度。
But Philip Hammond, the new Treasury chief, made clear this would not happen, pointing out how the people of the U.K. had voted “collectively” to leave the EU.
但是新任财政大臣菲利普·哈蒙德明确表示这不会发生,他指出,英国的人们非常“团结地”投票离开欧盟。
Sturgeon described these comments as "deeply disappointing," adding: "I hope the new prime minister,Hammond and all of the U.K. government will understand that we are absolutely serious when it comes to achieving our goal of protecting Scotland’s vital interests."
斯特金称这些评论“令人深感失望”,并称:“我希望新首相,哈蒙德和所有的英国政府官员能够明白,当涉及到保护苏格兰人民切身利益的时候,我们是绝对认真的。”
She spoke after the first meeting of the Standing Council on Europe, which she set up to advise the Scottish government following the vote to leave the EU on June 23.
她和欧洲议会常务理事会会面之后进行了讲话,希望能够建议苏格兰政府遵从6月23日“脱欧”公投的结果。
The body is made up of 18 legal, economic and diplomatic specialists and chairman Anton Muscatelli said they would examine how best to secure Scotland’s place in the EU.
该机构由18个法律、经济和外交专家组成,主席安顿·马斯卡特里表示他们将研究如何确保苏格兰在欧盟的席位。
May spent Thursday appointing and firing ministers from the Cabinet. One insider said: “This is not a reshuffle but a completely new government.”
梅首相在周四任免了内阁大臣。一位内部人士说:“这不是重新洗牌,而是一个全新的政府。”
Those ministers who were sacked, including Michael Gove, Nicky Morgan, John Whittingdale and Theresa Villiers, were told their services were no longer needed in early morning private meetings.
被免职的大臣们包括迈克尔·戈夫,尼基·摩根,约翰·惠廷德尔和特雷莎·维利尔兹,他们在凌晨的秘密会议上被告知他们的服务已经不再需要了。
Later in Downing Street, the procession of promoted ministers and those who survived the chop took place before television cameras. Among the winners were a string of women and Brexiters.
稍候在唐宁街,任命和留任大臣的过程发生在电视摄像机前。这些人中很多人都是女性和“脱欧”派。
These included Justine Greening promoted to the education brief, Liz Truss, who succeeds Gove as justice secretary, and leading Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom, who takes on the environment portfolio.
他们包括被提升的教育大臣贾斯汀·格里宁,接替戈夫成为司法大臣的利兹·特鲁斯,领导“脱欧”的活动家安德烈·兰德森,则接任了环境方面的领导
May’s office made clear that the new premier had created “a bold cabinet, which was hitting the ground running” with ministers already having met some of their foreign counterparts for talks.
梅首相的办公室明确表示,新首相一鼓作气组建了“一个大胆的内阁”,几位大臣和外国的部长级官员进行了会谈。
“What you have seen with the appointments today is that commitment to putting social reform at the heart of her government," declared May’s spokeswoman.
“你今天看到的任免,显示了本届政府把社会改革作为工作重心的承诺”,梅首相的发言人说。
The creation of specific Cabinet posts for exiting the EU and boosting international trade "underlines the commitment to delivering on the decision of the British people," she added.
为“脱欧”和促进国际贸易所创的内阁职位的创造“强调了传递英国人民决定的承诺,”她补充说。
But the opposition Labour Party said the promotion of a string of right-wingers contradicted the new premier’s "warm words" on her entry into Downing St. about seeking to govern "not for a privileged few but for every one of us".
但反对党工党表示,提拔右翼分子违背了新首相在她进入唐宁街谋求执政时候的“温和话语”——“不为少数特权人士,而为我们每个人。”
Meantime, the prime minister, who has already taken telephone calls from Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Francois Hollande, had a 15-minute congratulatory telephone call from President Obama.
与此同时,已经和德国总理安吉拉·默克尔和法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德通过电话的新首相,和美国总统奥巴马通了15分钟的祝贺电话。