默克尔组阁努力取得突破

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.

德国朝着组建新政府迈出了一大步，因为德国社民党(SPD)投票赞成展开正式的组阁谈判，此举有望让安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)获得第四个任期，打破持续已四个月的政治僵局。

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.

周日在波恩举行的社民党特别党代会上，642位与会代表中的362位赞成同默克尔的保守派政党联盟展开谈判，这个票数优势小于该党官员的预测。

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”.

社民党领袖马丁•舒尔茨(Martin Schulz)呼吁他的政党支持谈判，以便一个新政府能够开启“历史性的政治变革，为欧洲带来新的曙光”。

“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.”

“欧洲正在等待一个对欧洲负起责任、并且果断采取行动的德国，”舒尔茨表示。“没有社民党，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.

投票结果将让默克尔的基民盟(CDU)党内乃至法国总统埃马纽埃尔•马克龙(Emmanuel Macron)等欧洲领导人松一口气。马克龙需要在柏林有一个志同道合的政府来推动对欧盟的全面改革，包括深化欧元区。

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.

社民党决定与基民盟尝试组建一个新的大联合政府，标志着在数月的不确定性之后事态取得突破。去年9月举行的大选没有产生明确胜者，而默克尔早先与自由民主党(FDP)和绿党(Greens)组建政府的尝试以失败告终。

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.

在经过数小时的激烈辩论后，社民党以56%的微弱票数优势赞成谈判，突显该党内部在这个问题上的深刻裂痕。

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.

详细的联合执政协议仍需要由社民党全体45万名党员进行表决，这是通向一个新的中右/中左执政联盟的最后一道障碍。社民党的许多党员将近期一连串受挫归咎于该党在上一届默克尔政府中的小党角色，他们担心又一届大联合政府将进一步损害社民党的地位。

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.

如果不能支持组阁谈判，德国有可能走向重新选举。这也将给默克尔的政治前景打下问号，她已一再表明她不想领导一个少数党政府。

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.

组阁谈判将基于本月早些时候社民党领导人、基民盟及其巴伐利亚姊妹党基社盟(CSU)达成的初步协议。

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.

舒尔茨强调，需要创建一只“讲团结、不鼓吹紧缩的欧洲货币基金”，并承诺柏林方面将在围绕深化欧洲一体化的辩论中发挥更加积极的作用。

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.

尽管他最初反对组建一个新的大联合政府，但他表示，迄今达成的协议将为社民党选民带来实实在在的利益，包括为家庭、学校和基础设施争取更多资金。