默克爾將尋求第四個德國總理任期

Angela Merkel has decided to seek a fourth term as German chancellor, less than two weeks after Donald Trump’s election in the US left her as the west’s pre-eminent defender of liberal values.

安格拉.默克爾(Angela Merkel)決定尋求第四個德國總理任期，不到兩週前，唐納德.特朗普(Donald Trump)當選美國總統，使她成爲西方的頭號自由派價值觀捍衛者。

The announcement to stand again came days after meetings with world leaders that underscored Ms Merkel’s importance to an international order rocked by Mr Trump’s electoral victory, and the rise of populist and nationalist parties across Europe.

在她再次參選的聲明發出幾天前，默克爾與世界領導人的會晤突顯了她對國際秩序的重要性，特朗普當選以及民粹主義和民族主義政黨在歐洲各國崛起撼動了這一秩序。

She announced her decision to seek re-election last night, ending months of speculation.

她昨晚宣佈了她將再次參選的決定，從而結束了長達數月的猜測。

She said that she had thought endlessly about whether to run again and described the decision as anything but trivial, not for the country, for the party and for me personally.

她表示，她一直不停思考自己是否再次參選，她稱這一決定不是小事，對於我的國家、我的政黨以及我自己而言都是如此。

Ms Merkel said that she wanted to serve Germany in these difficult and uncertain times.

默克爾表示，她希望在當今艱難和不確定的時期爲德國服務。

She said that the election would be more difficult than any since reunification in 1990, with society more polarised than when she began her third term in 2013, and her CDU party, facing challenges from the right and left.

她表示，這場選舉將比自（1990年）德國統一以來的任何選舉都更艱難，社會兩極分化程度比她在2013年開始第三任總理任期時更爲嚴重，同時她所在的基民盟(CDU)面臨着來自右翼和左翼的挑戰。

Last week, the 62-year-old won the endorsement of Barack Obama, US president, who was in Berlin on the last leg of his final European tour for an informal summit with five EU heads of government.

上週，62歲的默克爾獲得了美國總統巴拉克.奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的支持，奧巴馬當時在柏林，這是他任內最後一次歐洲訪問的最後一站，他與5位歐盟政府首腦召開了一次非正式峯會。

The outgoing president described Ms Merkel as his closest international partner, jesting that if he were German he would vote for her.

這位即將卸任的美國總統稱默克爾是他最密切的國際合作夥伴，並開玩笑說，如果他是德國人，他會投票給默克爾。

Her decision to run is likely to be met with relief in EU capitals, where she is seen as a rock of stability at a time of tectonic shifts in European politics.

默克爾參選的決定可能會讓歐盟各國鬆一口氣，在歐盟內部，她被視爲歐洲政治劇變時期穩住陣腳的磐石。

In recent years EU leaders have looked to Ms Merkel and Germany to help solve the continent’s problems, ranging from the refugee crisis to the Greek bailout and Brexit.

最近幾年，歐盟領導人一直依靠默克爾和德國來幫助解決歐洲的問題，從難民危機到希臘紓困和英國退歐。

Ms Merkel’s decision comes as the French yesterday went to the polls to select a centre-right candidate for next year’s election.

在默克爾宣佈參選之際，法國昨日投票，將爲明年總統大選選出一位中右翼候選人。

Pollsters expect the winner to face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the battle for the presidency.

民調專家預計，獲勝者將在總統大選中迎戰極右翼領導人馬琳.勒龐(Marine Le Pen)。