1、Scottish independence苏格兰的独立More than just words不仅仅是嘴上的事Alex Salmond announces the details of his longed-for referendumAlex Salmond 公布了他期盼已久的苏格兰独立公投计划的具体内容Jan 28th 2012 | from the print edition“DO YOU agree that Scotland should be an independent country?” If Alex Salmond gets his way, that will be th
2、e main question confronting his compatriots in the autumn of 2014. Scotlands Nationalist first minister set the timing of the referendum on the nations independence earlier this month. But its wording, which was announced in a consultation document on January 25th, will be more important to the even
3、tual result.“你是否同意苏格兰应该成为一个独立的国家?” 如果 Alex Salmond 成功推动了公投.那么在 2014 年的秋天,这就将是摆在他所有同胞面前的主要问题. 独立主义者,苏格兰首席部长 Salmond 在本月早些时候提出了关于独立公投的时间表.但是在 1 月 25 号发布的咨询文件中所用的措辞将会对最终结果有更重要的作用.Unionists want Scots to be asked simply whether they wish to stay in the United Kingdom or to leave it. Mr Salmonds main que
4、stion does that, albeit in a rather leading way. But his consultation keeps open the option of an additional question: whether Scotland should be given more powers of self-government. Mr Salmonds critics say that he wants to include this option of “devolution max” on the ballot because he cannot per
5、suade enough Scots to leave the union: polls suggest only one-third support a break. He retorts that it would be undemocratic to exclude an option that commands a lot of support.支持英国统一的人希望苏格兰人只回答一个简单的问题就是他们是否愿意留在联合王国(UK)。虽然是用了另一个方法, 但是 Salmond 的主要议题还是这样提到了。但是在他的考量中还保留了对另一个附加问题的选择权：苏格兰是否应该被赋予更大的自治权。批
6、评家们指出，他想把“获得最大自治权” 这一项包含在选票之中，因为他无法说服足够多的苏格兰人同意其独立主张：民调显示仅仅三分之一的人支持苏格兰独立。他反驳道把博得如此多人支持的选项排除在选票之外是不民主的行为。Mr Salmonds announcement is merely the latest punch in a fight between Edinburgh and London over the handling of the referendum. The first minister insists that the arrangements are for Scotland t
7、o decide, while the British government, which has published its own consultation document, says that it is a matter for the union as a whole. As well as the timing and wording of the ballot, the two sides have disagreed on whether the voting age should be lowered for the referendum (Mr Salmond says
8、that it should) and whether it should be overseen by the Electoral Commission, which Nationalists testily point out is answerable to the Westminster Parliament. Mr Salmonds consultation, which will close in May, gives ground on the latter but not the former.Salmond 先生的公告只不过是最近在苏格兰和英国中央政府之间关于苏格兰独立公投问
9、题较量过程中的一次重拳出击罢了。Salmond 坚持该事要由苏格兰自己来决定，然而英国政府早前发布了关于此事的咨情文件，其指出此问题是全英国的事。不论是在投票时间还是在选票中的选项上，两方在关于投票者年龄是否应低于公投书上希望的年龄（Salmond 说应该低于）以及是否应该由选举委员会,这个被独立主义者视作为英国国会服务的机构来监督此次公投这类问题上没有达成一致。Salmond 先生发起的咨询活动对第二个问题做出了让步 ,此咨询活动将会在五月份结束.Mr Salmond used a speech in front of a left-leaning audience in London on
10、 January 24th to argue that an independent Scotland would be a “beacon for progressive opinion south of the border”. He cited free university tuition and free medical prescriptions for the elderly as social-democratic achievements by the Scottish Parliament. But the three main parties in Westminster
11、 are united in their opposition to Scottish independence. For Labour, which would struggle to win an election without its Scottish MPs, it is a matter of almost existential import.本月 24 号，伦敦， Salmond 在一群左派听众面前发表了一次演说以证明一个独立的苏格兰将是一个“能把英国南部边界照亮的进步灯塔” 。他列举出了取消大学学费和为老人实施医疗处方自由化的例子作为苏格兰议会在社会民主政策上的成就。但英国国
12、会中的三大主要政党在对苏格兰独立问题上表达了一致的反对态度。对于工党来说，如果没有苏格兰地区的议员们，他们将很难取得选举的胜利，这是一个关乎该党存亡的大票仓。Although Mr Salmond is an imperious figure in Scotland, where his Scottish National Party governs alone, the skirmishes between London and Edinburgh that have taken place this month have emboldened unionists. Many in the
13、coalition government detect that Mr Salmond, for all his tactical wiles, has no persuasive answers to the big questions that have been put to him so far. It is not clear, for example, whether an independent Scotland would adopt the euro, which is unpopular thanks to the unfolding crisis on the conti
14、nent, or sterling, which would mean interest rates still being set in London. Neither is it obvious whether Scotlands large banks would be bailed out by the independent nation or (as Mr Salmond suggests) the UK. These conundrums are worrying for the SNP; opinion polls suggests most Scots will base t
15、heir vote on whether they think independence will make Scotland richer or poorer.尽管 Salmond 在苏格兰是一个专横的人物，在这里他的苏格兰民族党一党独大，但是本月发生在苏格兰和英国中央政府间的交锋却使反独立者更强大了。在英国本届联合政府中的很多人都发现，在所有的诡计里，他对那些能使他走得更远的大方针问题却没有给出一个能令人信服的回答。例如一个独立的苏格兰是采用欧元，目前这个被认为导致不断蔓延在欧洲大陆上的经济危机的元凶，或者还是采用英镑，若这样则意味着利率还是要由英国中央政府来决定。再者苏格兰的大银行是由这
16、个独立的苏格兰还是由英国来解困也非常不明朗。这些难题对苏格兰民族党来说都是让人困恼的。民意调查显示大部分苏格兰人还是会依据独立能否会使苏格兰变富裕来决定他们的选择。Having initially craved an early referendum to take advantage of low support for independence, some unionists think a two-year campaign will expose flaws in the Nationalist argument. Mr Salmond has always played a long game. He is no longer alone in that.因为现在对独立的支持率很低,所以一些反对独立的人希望早早得来一次公投，其他一些反对独立的人认为时长两年的运动将会暴露独立主义者观点中的瑕疵。Salmond 过去经常玩拉锯战。但是现在有人陪他玩啦.from the print edition | Britain 译者：周开文
