評論
打印
Leaders-Britain
社論
Britain's floods
洪水泛濫大不列顛
Canute Cameron
卡梅倫禍從口出
The prime minister's response to the floods has been patchy; but it is wrong to blame him for them
首相治洪引發(fā)質(zhì)疑，歸咎于他有失公允
BIBLICAL—that is how David Cameron described the floods spreading misery through southern England.
過去幾周，英格蘭南部洪災(zāi)泛濫，數(shù)千公頃農(nóng)場一片汪洋，
Thousands of hectares of farmland have been under water for weeks and over 5,000 houses abandoned.
五千家庭流離失所，無奈之際首相卡梅倫稱之為上帝的旨意。
Local railways are damaged and their services in chaos. Soldiers have been deployed to leafy Thames-side suburbs, where looters were rumoured to be splashing through abandoned stckbrokers' palaces.
如今，洪災(zāi)區(qū)鐵路中斷，公共服務(wù)陷入混亂。政府已經(jīng)調(diào)遣軍隊維持泰晤士河沿岸洪水侵蝕地區(qū)的治安，據(jù)稱大量歹徒已經(jīng)將被富人遺棄的豪宅洗劫一空。
The prime minister was scarcely exaggerating;
對于此次洪水的破壞力，卡梅倫絲毫沒有夸大其詞。
yet his recourse to scripture also invited the uncomfortable question of who, exactly, is to blame.
然而，首相引經(jīng)據(jù)典的說辭卻引發(fā)了一個尷尬的問題，即誰該對此次洪水負責(zé)。
The question matters to Mr Cameron.
對于卡梅倫來說，這個問題至關(guān)重要。
His reputation for competence underpins his party's electoral chances.
是否具備應(yīng)對危機的能力，關(guān)系著其黨內(nèi)選舉成敗。
He may be able to brush off the councillor from the UK Independence Party who saw the floods as divine retribution for the prime minister's successful campaign to legalise gay marriage.
卡梅倫此前順利通過同性戀婚姻合法化提案，英國獨立黨議員認為這是上帝對他的懲罰，對此卡梅倫或許可以選擇漠視。
But British newspapers are full of semi-submerged people blaming his government for their plight:
然而，英國報紙上充斥著災(zāi)區(qū)人民將自己現(xiàn)在的困境歸咎于政府：
73% of Britons support a Daily Mail campaign to divert money to flood victims from Mr Cameron's unloved foreign-aid budget.
據(jù)《每日鏡報》發(fā)起一項調(diào)查表明，73%的英國國民希望將卡梅倫不受國人待見的國外援助預(yù)算用于此次洪水受災(zāi)群眾。
There is even an echo of the opprobrium thrown at George Bush for his useless response to Hurricane Katrina.
甚至有人舊事重提，將席卷美國的颶風(fēng)卡特里娜造成的嚴(yán)重災(zāi)害歸責(zé)與小布什的應(yīng)對不力，以此含沙射影指責(zé)卡梅倫。
Some of these recriminations are justified.
上述部分指責(zé)并非毫無根據(jù)。
In 2009 the Environment Agency, which is charged with keeping water in its proper place,requested an annual increase in spending on flood defences.
2009年，負責(zé)治理河道的英國環(huán)境局，曾提出增加年度防洪預(yù)算。
This was not unreasonable: more people are living in flood-prone areas, and global warming is likely to lead to more extreme weather.
這也是現(xiàn)實所需，很多人居住在易發(fā)洪澇區(qū)，全球氣候變暖很有可能會導(dǎo)致更多極端天氣。
The agency's budget for capital expenditure has instead been cut by 28%.
然而，防洪預(yù)算不但未增加，反而減少了28%。
The extra cash now promised must be spent on repairing damaged defences, not investing in new ones.
現(xiàn)今政府許諾增加的預(yù)算勢必會用于修復(fù)損毀防御設(shè)施，而無法投資新建。
It was a failure characteristic of a government that has too often sacrificed long-term spending on infrastructure to the exigencies of short-term belt-tightening.
政府常常會犧牲掉用于基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的長期預(yù)算，彌補短期節(jié)省開支造成的經(jīng)濟狀況，這是政府失職的表現(xiàn)之一。
The government's initial response to the disaster was also poor.
對于英國國內(nèi)的洪災(zāi)，政府最初的反應(yīng)同樣令人不敢恭維。
Mr Cameron implied the flooding on the Somerset Levels, an area of land below sea-level, had been exacerbated by a decision to stop dredging the man-made rivers that drain it.
卡梅倫暗示稱由于此前政府終止了用于排澇的人工河疏浚工程，低于海平面的Somerset Levels地區(qū)的洪災(zāi)影響加重。
That suggested the last, Labour, government was to blame.
這表明上屆政府，工黨政府需要對此負責(zé)。
Yet dredging would at best have mitigated the flooding only a bit.
然而，即便是用于排澇的人工河得以疏浚，也只是稍微減小此次洪水的危害。
The Environment Agency is right to give low priority to protecting farmland. Towns are more valuable.
英國環(huán)境局不優(yōu)先考慮保護農(nóng)場的決定是正確的，城鎮(zhèn)更為重要。
Torn between conflicting desires to appear in control of the calamity and blameless for the suffering, other ministers blathered.
在治理洪災(zāi)過程中，不同利益群體的矛盾開始顯現(xiàn)，英國其他部長開始喋喋不休，互相推諉責(zé)任。
Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, sniped at the Environment Agency—which is led, not coincidentally, by Lord Smith, a Labour Party grandee.
社區(qū)大臣埃里克?皮克斯抨擊由工黨要員史密斯勛爵領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的環(huán)境局，絕非偶然。
Other Tories unconvincingly blamed their usual bogeys:
難以置信的是其他托利黨成員譴責(zé)一貫被英國妖魔化的對象：
the European Union, on the basis of one directive or other, and the Liberal Democrats, their main rival in the south-west.
歐盟，理由是其指揮不力，他們還譴責(zé)國內(nèi)西南地區(qū)的主要競選對手自由民主黨。
For a government that takes pride in its efficiency, this was a shambles—and one seized on not just by Labour but by Mr Cameron's many enemies in the press and his own party.
對于一個向來以高效引以為豪的政府來說，這簡直是倒退。這一點不僅會被工黨，而且會被卡梅倫的敵對媒體及自身保守黨內(nèi)，都會借題發(fā)揮。
It never rains but it pours
不鳴則已，一鳴驚人
How much this will hurt Mr Cameron electorally is unclear: most of the flooded areas are safe Tory seats.
這會對卡梅倫的連任選舉造成多達影響尚不得而知：大部分被淹地區(qū)都是可靠的保守黨議員。
But the scale of the opprobrium is wildly unfair.
但是，對卡梅倫的廣泛指責(zé)有失公允。
That is partly because Mr Cameron has got his act together, promising the acceleration of insurance payouts, giving affected companies more time to meet tax obligations and stopping the ministerial blather.
原因之一是卡梅倫已經(jīng)開始有條不紊的采取相應(yīng)措施，承諾加快各項保險賠付，允許受災(zāi)地區(qū)公司延后納稅，勒令停止部門之間的口水戰(zhàn)。
But the bigger reason is simple: in this instance virtually all the blame should fall not on the government but on that other British bugbear, the weather.
但是，引發(fā)洪災(zāi)的主要原因不言而喻：事實上這次洪水災(zāi)害不應(yīng)全部歸責(zé)于政府，而是歸咎于英國惡劣的天氣，
Recent weeks have been the wettest in a century.
近幾周的降雨量創(chuàng)英國過去一個世紀(jì)歷史新高。
A giant storm surge and some of the biggest waves on record have contributed to a triple whammy of flash floods, waterlogging and burst riverbanks.
暴風(fēng)雨激增，有史以來最大的波浪都助漲了此次迅猛的洪流、積水，這些都對河岸形成了強烈的沖擊。
Even if Mr Cameron had the wisdom of Solomon and the wealth of Croesus, he could not have prevented the flooding.
即便卡梅倫有所羅門的智慧、克里薩斯王的財富，也無法阻止此次洪水。
With climate science indicating that future inundations are more likely, Britons will therefore have to assume more responsibility for their own property.
氣候科學(xué)表明英國未來或許會遭遇更多洪水，
Anyone tempted to build or buy a house on a flood-plain or low-lying sea front should think again.
任何打算在沖積平原或者海平面以下地區(qū)建造或購買房屋的人都需要三思而后行。
And on this subject, at least, they should stop blaming Mr Cameron.
無論如何，至少對于此次洪災(zāi)，他們不應(yīng)在譴責(zé)卡梅倫。
