每日英語跟讀 Ep.K465: Why was Truss’ tenure so short - and now what?
British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success. It did not go to plan.
英國首相莉茲·特拉斯上個月就任，滿懷希望與承諾要重振英國經濟，讓它邁向長久繁榮。
事情並未如其所願。
Instead, Truss’ tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country’s financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people.
相反地，特拉斯任內風波不斷而傷痕累累，因其經濟政策威脅到英國金融的穩定、將英鎊拉至歷史低點、引發債券市場混亂，並讓數百萬人抵押貸款的成本增加。
Though Truss took office amid a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, her decision to announce ￡105 billion ($US116 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases without providing details on how she would pay for it unnerved investors, who warned of soaring public debt.
特拉斯就任時雖正值物價危機、烏克蘭戰爭和COVID-19疫情揮之不去的影響，但她決定宣布減稅1,050億英鎊（1,160億美元）及增加支出，卻未詳細說明經費來源為何，這讓擔心公共債務飆升的投資人感到不安。
That undermined confidence in the government’s ability to pay its bills and raised questions about the economic credentials of a new prime minister who took office after a deeply divisive contest for leadership of the governing Conservative Party.
這削弱了人們對政府支付帳單能力的信心，並引發了對新首相經濟問題處理能力的質疑。新首相是執政的保守黨經過嚴重分歧的激烈角逐後所產生的黨魁。
The disarray surrounding the economic plan weakened Truss’ authority as prime minister, and ultimately led to her decision to resign on Thursday last week.
經濟計畫方面的混亂削弱了特拉斯作為首相的權威，並最終導致她決定在上週四辭職。
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
The party said it would select a new leader and prime minister by Oct. 28. Truss will remain prime minister until then.
現在情況如何？
保守黨表示，將在十月二十八日前選出新黨魁，即首相。在此之前特拉斯將繼續擔任首相。
To avoid the need for a lengthy election campaign that could have left the country without an effective government for weeks, party leaders decided that lawmakers would have greater say in the choice and without weeks of hustings around the country.
為了避免需要長時間的競選活動──這可能會讓政府空轉數週──黨的領導人決定立法者在選擇方面擁有更大的決定權，且不會在全國進行數週的造勢。
Under the expedited process, challengers for the leadership had to garner the support of 100 other Conservative lawmakers — out of a total 357 — by Monday afternoon. That meant a maximum field of three for lawmakers to vote on. The last-placed candidate would then be eliminated and the top two candidates will face an online vote of the party membership.
在此快速的程序下，黨魁角逐者必須在週一下午之前，在三百五十七名保守黨議員中獲得一百位的支持。這表示每位議員最多可投票給三個人。排名最後的候選人將被淘汰，前兩名候選人將接受黨員的線上投票。
Conservative leaders are hoping that this lightning contest will produce a consensus candidate who can unite the party behind the tax and spending priorities that Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has already outlined.
保守黨領導人希望這場閃電競賽將產生一個共識候選人，他可以團結該黨，支持財政大臣傑瑞米‧杭特已概述的稅收與支出優先事項。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/10/25/2003787644