默克爾組閣努力取得突破

Germany took a big step towards forming a new government when the country’s Social Democrats voted in favour of formal coalition talks that could give Angela Merkel a fourth term in office and break a four-month political deadlock.

德國朝着組建新政府邁出了一大步，因爲德國社民黨(SPD)投票贊成展開正式的組閣談判，此舉有望讓安格拉?默克爾(Angela Merkel)獲得第四個任期，打破持續已四個月的政治僵局。

In a tighter result than party officials had predicted, 362 of 642 delegates at an extraordinary SPD conference in Bonn on Sunday backed opening negotiations with Ms Merkel’s conservative bloc.

週日在波恩舉行的社民黨特別黨代會上，642位與會代表中的362位贊成同默克爾的保守派政黨聯盟展開談判，這個票數優勢小於該黨官員的預測。

Martin Schulz, SPD leader, called on his party to give its support to the talks so that a new government could usher in “historic political change [and] a new dawn for Europe”.

社民黨領袖馬丁?舒爾茨(Martin Schulz)呼籲他的政黨支持談判，以便一個新政府能夠開啓“歷史性的政治變革，爲歐洲帶來新的曙光”。

“Europe is waiting for a Germany that takes responsibility for Europe and that acts decisively,” Mr Schulz said. “Without the SPD, that won’t be possible.”

“歐洲正在等待一個對歐洲負起責任、並且果斷採取行動的德國，”舒爾茨表示。“沒有社民黨，那是不可能的。”

The result will prompt relief in the ranks of Ms Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, but also among European leaders such as Emmanuel Macron, the French president. who needs a sympathetic government in Berlin to push ahead with a sweeping overhaul of the EU, including a deepening of the eurozone.

投票結果將讓默克爾的基民盟(CDU)黨內乃至法國總統埃馬紐埃爾?馬克龍(Emmanuel Macron)等歐洲領導人鬆一口氣。馬克龍需要在柏林有一個志同道合的政府來推動對歐盟的全面改革，包括深化歐元區。

The SPD decision to try to form a new grand coalition with the CDU marks a breakthrough after months of uncertainty that followed an inconclusive general election in September and an earlier failed attempt by Ms Merkel to set up a government with the liberal Free Democrats and the Greens.

社民黨決定與基民盟嘗試組建一個新的大聯合政府，標誌着在數月的不確定性之後事態取得突破。去年9月舉行的大選沒有產生明確勝者，而默克爾早先與自由民主黨(FDP)和綠黨(Greens)組建政府的嘗試以失敗告終。

But the narrow 56 per cent vote in favour of the talks, after hours of tense debate, highlighted the deep rifts within the party on the issue.

在經過數小時的激烈辯論後，社民黨以56%的微弱票數優勢贊成談判，突顯該黨內部在這個問題上的深刻裂痕。

A detailed coalition agreement will still have to be put to a vote of the SPD’s 450,000 rank-and-file members — the last hurdle on the road to a new centre-right/centre-left coalition. Many SPD members blame a string of recent defeats on the party’s role as junior partner to Ms Merkel in the last German government, and worry that another grand coalition will hurt the Social Democrats’ standing further.

詳細的聯合執政協議仍需要由社民黨全體45萬名黨員進行表決，這是通向一個新的中右/中左執政聯盟的最後一道障礙。社民黨的許多黨員將近期一連串受挫歸咎於該黨在上一屆默克爾政府中的小黨角色，他們擔心又一屆大聯合政府將進一步損害社民黨的地位。

Failure to endorse the coalition talks would have likely put Germany on the path towards repeat elections. It would also have raised questions about the political future of Ms Merkel, who has made clear repeatedly that she does not want to lead a minority government.

如果不能支持組閣談判，德國有可能走向重新選舉。這也將給默克爾的政治前景打下問號，她已一再表明她不想領導一個少數黨政府。

The negotiations will be based on a preliminary deal struck earlier this month between SPD leaders, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.

組閣談判將基於本月早些時候社民黨領導人、基民盟及其巴伐利亞姊妹黨基社盟(CSU)達成的初步協議。

Mr Schulz highlighted the need to create a “European Monetary Fund that practices solidarity and does not preach austerity”, and promised that Berlin would take a far more active role in the debate about deeper European integration.

舒爾茨強調，需要創建一隻“講團結、不鼓吹緊縮的歐洲貨幣基金”，並承諾柏林方面將在圍繞深化歐洲一體化的辯論中發揮更加積極的作用。

While he had initially opposed a new grand coalition, he said the deal reached so far would deliver tangible benefit for Social Democrat voters, including more money for families, schools and infrastructure.

儘管他最初反對組建一個新的大聯合政府，但他表示，迄今達成的協議將爲社民黨選民帶來實實在在的利益，包括爲家庭、學校和基礎設施爭取更多資金。