每日英語跟讀 Ep.K413:  The Delightful Implosion of Boris Johnson

There isn’t much good news in the world these days, so it’s worth taking time to appreciate the delightful implosion of soon-to-be former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

最近世界上沒有多少好消息，所以即將成為英國前首相的強生政權令人愉悅的內爆，值得花時間欣賞一下。

His 2019 landslide victory against the hapless Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party seemed to be ushering in a long period of right-wing dominance. Johnson, said The Economist, “is well placed to become one of the most powerful prime ministers in modern times.” Less than three years later, undone by scandal, incompetence and the rebellion of his own party, he’s announced plans to step aside once a new conservative leader can be found.

強生2019年壓倒性大勝時運不濟的工黨黨魁柯賓，似開啟一段長期由右翼主導的時期。經濟學人雜誌說，強生「有優越條件可成為現代權力最大的首相之一」。不到三年，被醜聞、無能和黨內叛變摧毀的他，宣布只要保守黨選出新黨魁就下台。

Johnson, a nationalist demagogue and mendacious blowhard, has often been compared to Donald Trump, right down to the poufy yellow hair. Their political careers have certain parallels.

強生是個民族主義煽動家和撒謊的吹牛專家，常被拿來與美國前總統川普相提並論，包括那蓬鬆的金髮。他們的政治生涯有些相似。

The shocking success of the Brexit referendum, the cause Johnson eventually rode to power, presaged Trump’s even more shocking presidential victory. Both shared a contempt for truth and the norms of their respective governments.

英國脫歐公投令人震驚的成功，是強生最終躍居權力頂峰的原因，也預示川普更教人驚駭的總統大選勝利。兩人都藐視真相和他們各自政府的規範。

But, of course, Britain and the United States are very different countries. British people are still evidently capable of being shocked by officials’ sexual harassment and shameless untruths, even when those officials are on their side. Their country is not heavily armed and does not have a powerful faction that regularly threatens violence. Britain still appears to have some minimal social agreement about acceptable political behavior.

不過，英美兩國當然非常不同。英國人顯然還會因為官員性騷擾和無恥謊言而震驚，即便那些官員屬於他們支持的政黨。他們的國家並未全副武裝，也沒有一個經常威脅動用暴力的有力派系。英國對於可以接受的政治行為，似乎仍有某種最低限度的社會共識。

That was partly because Britain’s lockdown was much stricter than ours and applied to the whole country; unlike Trump’s partying in 2020, Johnson’s violated rules his government was imposing on others. Still, to be really furious at hypocrisy, you have to have some expectation that people in power will follow the rules. And to be shamed by the revelation of hypocrisy, as the Tories seemed to be, you have to accept that the standards applied to others also apply to you.

那種情況部分是因為英國的防疫封鎖比我們美國嚴格很多，而且適用於全國；不像川普2020年的狂歡派對，強生的派對違反他的政府施加於別人的規則。不過，要對虛偽由衷憤怒，你得抱持某種期待，冀望掌權者遵守規則。要對虛偽情事被揭發感到丟臉，就像保守黨員看來那樣，你得相信適用於別人的標準同樣適用於你。

Johnson’s career is ending, at least for now, the way Trump’s should have ended — with public revulsion leading his own party to oust him. Like Trump, Johnson initially wanted to cling to power when it was no longer feasible; unlike with Trump, there was never a prospect of him summoning an armed mob. Watching Johnson’s fall after living through Trump is like chasing a slasher film with a cozy mystery. Both may be murder stories, but only one has a reassuring order to it.

強生的政治生涯結束了，至少目前如此，因大眾的厭惡引發他自己的黨推翻他。川普的政治生涯也該這樣結束。跟川普一樣，強生大勢已去時一開始也曾想緊抓權力；不像川普的是，強生完全沒機會召集武裝暴民。經歷過整個川普時期再來看強生下台，就像看一部帶有安逸推理小說味道的血腥恐怖片。兩者可能都是謀殺劇，但只有一個有令人寬慰的秩序。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6481604