評論
打印
France’s industry minister
法國工業部長
Enfant terrible
頑童
Will Arnaud Montebourg stay in the French government?
阿爾諾·蒙特布爾是否還會繼續呆在法國政府？
FOR sheer theatrical effect, it is hard to beat Arnaud Montebourg. Tall and telegenic, the 50-year-old Socialist politician is as shameless bossing about global companies as he is charming old ladies at trestle-table picnics over bottles of burgundy in his wineland constituency. Since becoming France’s industry minister in May, however, Mr Montebourg has had a series of awkward encounters with economic reality, which have begun to raise questions about his future in government.
如果在意戲劇效果，阿爾諾·蒙特布爾很難被打擊。這個修長、上鏡的50歲社會黨政客不知羞恥的對于跨國公司的干涉正如其在葡萄酒選區品酒時向年長的女士獻殷勤一樣。自從五月成為了法國工業部部長，阿爾諾·蒙特布爾便遭遇了一系列經濟形勢上的難堪，也給他以后的政客生涯帶來了麻煩。
His most recent bruising experience came from his effort to stop ArcelorMittal, a steelmaking giant, closing two blast furnaces at Florange, in Lorraine. At a time when other companies are laying off many more workers, the 629 planned job losses were relatively small. But the political symbolism was large. Lorraine, on France’s eastern border, was once the centre of world steelmaking, and still projects muscular industriousness as a source of national pride. On the election trail, Francois Hollande, now president, went to the site, clambered atop a van, and vowed to protect jobs there.
他最近的受傷經歷來自于他致力于停止阿賽洛米塔爾，鋼鐵巨頭，關閉在洛林地區弗洛朗熱的兩個鋼鐵爐。當其他的公司正在解雇更多的員工時，阿賽洛米塔爾裁員629人不算過分。但是其裁員的政治的意義卻很大。洛林，法國東部邊境的城市，曾經是世界的鋼鐵制造中心，而且仍然以其勤勉和強壯的品格成為國家的驕傲。在選舉期間，弗朗索瓦·奧朗德，現任法國總統就曾拜訪該地，他爬上一輛貨車，誓言保護此地的工作機會。
Mr Montebourg took up the cause with enthusiasm. He promised to find a buyer for the blast furnaces and denounced the company, declaring “we don’t want Mittal in France any more”. As union hopes rose, he threatened to nationalise the firm—an option Mr Hollande himself then refused to rule out. In the end, however, the government backed down. On November 30th Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, announced that the blast furnaces would not be restarted, and that talk of nationalisation was off the agenda.
蒙特布爾滿懷熱情的接下了這個工作。他承諾為這兩個鋼鐵爐找到買家，并向鋼鐵公司宣稱：“我們不在需要米塔爾再留在法國”。因為聯邦的期望增加，他威脅國有化這個公司---對于此種說法，奧朗德不排除有這樣的可能。雖然最終政府做出讓步。在11月30日，總理讓-馬克·艾羅，宣布熔爐將停止使用，并宣稱國有化將不在議程內。
In his role as saviour-in-chief of French industry, Mr Montebourg has tirelessly criss-crossed the country, even dressed up in a striped Breton top in a bid to promote stuff “made in France”. But his credibility is wearing thin. Although he staked out a claim as a left-winger at the Socialist presidential primary, he has zigzagged within the party over the years.
作為法國工業的首要拯救者，蒙特布爾不知疲倦的跑遍了整個法國，甚至穿著海軍風條紋衫在一次競拍會推廣“法國制造”的產品。但是其信譽卻每況愈下。雖然他在社會黨總統候選最初階段宣稱自己是左翼，其在黨內的這些年道路卻十分曲折。
Mr Montebourg’s real hallmark is a tough and consistent call for cleaner democratic politics. A lawyer, he campaigned to hold Jacques Chirac to account on charges of corruption linked to the former president’s stint as mayor of Paris. He called for a new constitution and a Sixth Republic. More recently, he has been one of the rare Socialist voices calling for the expulsion of corrupt officials. Today, however, that reputation has got lost amid what his detractors consider recklessness, and what union supporters—including at Florange—increasingly see as betrayal.
蒙特布爾最重要的作為是持續的要求嚴肅的清理民主政治。作為一個律師，他參與了對于雅克·勒內·希拉克賬戶的凍結，因為其在擔任巴黎市長期間的腐敗。他呼吁新的憲法的頒布以及成立第六共和國。最近，他又成為了社會黨中少數要求肅清腐敗官員的人中的一員。然而今天，他的好聲譽已經在其詆毀者認為其魯莽和支持者認為其背叛（包括弗洛朗熱地區）中消磨殆盡。
For now, Mr Montebourg insists he will stay in his “battle station” job. In some ways, this suits Mr Hollande, who was elected on a promise to stand up to finance and save industry, and needs to show his left wing that he does not just roll over in the face of giant corporations. Yet keeping his minister in place also makes for confusion in French economic policy. Reformists in government are trying to argue that France is open for business. Pierre Moscovici, the finance minister, who has glacial relations with Mr Montebourg, talks of a “Copernican revolution” in Socialist economic thinking. But such a message remains inaudible after Mr Montebourg has so recently put the threat of nationalisation back on the table.
如今，蒙特布爾堅持他將繼續堅守在“戰斗崗位”。在某種程度上來說，這最符合奧朗德，這位在選區期間承諾面對金融局勢和挽救工業，以及表現出他的左翼式強勢表明他不僅僅周旋于大企業之間的總統的心意。但是，保住蒙特布爾的部長位置會造成法國經濟政策的混亂。政府中的改革派一直盡力表明法國需要打開商業大門。一直與蒙特布爾關系糟糕的財務部長皮埃爾·莫斯科維奇提出了實行社會經濟的“哥白尼改革”的想法。但是在蒙特布爾提出國有化的威脅后，這一聲音便消失了。翻譯：董睿。
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