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Defeat Looming, May Delays Vote on Exit from EU
敗局逼近，梅推遲英國脫歐公投
By Stephen Castle
斯蒂芬·卡索
Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday postponed a critical parliamentary vote on her proposal for Britain’s departure from the European Union,
周一，四面楚歌的英國首相特雷莎·梅推遲了議會一項針對她提議的英國脫離歐盟的提議的投票事項，
a humiliating retreat that left the country’s economic and political future uncertain, and revealed her tenuous hold on power.
這一恥辱性的退讓使得英國的經濟和政治前途充滿了不確定性，同時也暴露了她手上的權利其實脆弱不堪。
British lawmakers had been scheduled to vote on Tuesday on the agreement Mrs. May had reached with the bloc for Britain’s withdrawal, or Brexit.
議員們原定于周二就梅與歐盟達成的退出歐盟，即“脫歐”，的協議進行投票。
In changing course so late, Mrs. May has left the country without any clear way forward after an agonizing battle over an issue that has gripped British society for nearly three years.
近三年來，這個問題一直困擾著英國社會，在經歷了一場痛苦的斗爭之后，梅在最后關頭改變路線，國家未來的道路由此陷入了迷霧。
The question facing the United Kingdom remains as straightforward — and yet as divisive — as it was when a small but clear majority of voters called for breaking with the European Union:
英國面臨的問題一直都很清晰——也一直存在很大的分歧——和當初一小部分但數量仍不容忽視的選民要求脫離歐盟時面臨的問題一樣:
Is it possible to have a smooth and orderly divorce from Europe that will not cause a sudden break in all political and economic ties, and also spare the British economy?
有沒有可能平穩有序地從歐盟脫離出去，既不導致所有的政治和經濟關系突然中斷，也不損害英國經濟?
The answer, for now, seems to be a resounding no.
就目前來看，答案似乎是一聲響亮的“沒有”。
And the country’s future is as uncertain as ever.
而這個國家的未來一如既往的不確定。
But the opposition to her plan is also a rebuke to Mrs. May herself.
然而，反對她的計劃，也是對梅本人的一種指責。
After years of talking the talk of a hard-liner, insisting that no deal was better than a bad deal,
多年來，梅在言辭上一直走的是強硬路線，堅稱沒達成協議總比達成糟糕的協議強，
Mrs. May showed up with a compromise that seemed to anger everyone on all sides of the debate.
故而她最終做出的妥協才像是激怒了爭論各方的所有人一般。
While a strong prime minister with reserves of political capital might also find it impossible to escape the political quicksand that is Brexit,
擁有政治資本儲備的強硬派首相可能還會發現，自己幾乎不可能逃脫英國脫歐帶來的政治流沙，
Mrs. May has few allies even among her own party and is facing constant speculation that she could confront a no-confidence vote.
在脫歐問題上梅甚至在她的黨內都幾乎沒有盟友，而且人們一直在猜測，她可能還會面臨不信任投票。
She is hanging on only because her party cannot agree on an alternative.
她之所以還在堅持，只是因為她的政黨還沒能達成一致，制定出其他解決方案。
In this reality, no plan and political paralysis means Britain could be staring at a hard break on March 29.
在這種情況下，沒有計劃和政治癱瘓意味著英國可能在3月29日面臨一場艱難的脫歐局面。
That would mean that suddenly, in one dramatic moment, Britain’s time would run out and it would lose much of its economic and political links to Europe.
具體就是，在一個戲劇性的瞬間，英國的時間將會突然耗盡，瞬間失去與歐洲的大部分經濟和政治聯系。
Banking, trade, travel, the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland — all would possibly change overnight.
銀行業、貿易、旅游、愛爾蘭與北愛爾蘭之間的邊界——所有這些都可能在一夜之間變得不一樣。
With the news of the postponed vote, the British pound lost about 1 percent of its value against the euro and the United States dollar, falling to its lowest level in more than a year and a half.
公投推遲的消息公布后，英鎊對歐元和美元的匯率貶值了大約1%，跌至了一年半多時間以來的最低水平。
Responding to news of the delayed vote, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s representative in the Brexit negotiations, wrote on Twitter, “I can’t follow anymore.”
在回應推遲投票的消息時，參與英國脫歐談判的歐洲議會代表蓋伊·費爾霍夫施塔特在Twitter上寫道，“我再也跟不上了?！?/p>
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