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Romanian politics
罗马尼亚的政局
Oh, brother
兄弟之情
Traian Basescu is ending his presidency amid a corruption scandal
特拉扬·伯塞斯库因腐败丑闻结束总统任期
Left or right in Bucharest
布加勒斯特，向左走，向右走。
THERE is no shortage of drama and intrigue in Romanian politics. Traian Basescu, a former sea captain, was elected in December 2004 after an anti-corruption campaign that deliberately echoed Ukraine's Orange revolution at the same time. On June 19th, in tears, he said: “Between the need to ensure an independent justice system and the natural reflex of protecting your brother, I choose justice.” His younger brother, Mircea, had been put in preventive custody after being accused of taking a 250,000 bribe from a convicted criminal, Sandu Anghel, who hoped that a president's brother might help to get him out of an eight-year prison sentence for stabbing his nephew.
罗马尼亚政治体系中高潮迭起，阴谋不断。曾任船长的特拉扬·伯塞斯库于2004年12月反腐倡廉运动之后当选为总统，那次运动是用以呼应当时乌克兰的橙色革命的。在6月19日，他满含泪水的说：“在维护司法系统独立的召唤与爱护手足之情的天性面前，我选择前者。”他的弟弟米尔恰被控受贿25万欧元。行贿的是一个被判刑的罪犯桑杜·安格尔，他原本指望总统的弟弟可以帮他逃脱因刺伤侄子而面临的八年有期徒刑。米尔恰之后便因此被防范性拘留。
Mircea Basescu claims that he is the victim of blackmail and that he never approached the president about the case. The president blames his brother for mingling with the “wrong people” and insists he did not take any money and never intervened in favour of anyone with legal problems. Mircea Basescu, who owns a meat-import business in the port of Constanta at the Black Sea, in 2010 became the godfather of one of Mr Anghel's granddaughters. He claims that this was a “purely Christian thing to do”. Mr Anghel is an illiterate local gangster from Constanta who made his fortune selling scrap metal from stolen railway tracks and other installations left in decay after the fall of communism.
米尔恰·伯塞斯库声称自己是被勒索的，并且自己从未因桑杜的案子找过总统。总统责怪弟弟与“错误的人”搅合在一起并且坚称自己并未收取任何财物也从未因帮助任何人而干涉任何法律问题。米尔恰·伯塞斯库在黑海的康斯坦察港做肉类进口的生意，于2010年成为安格尔其中一个孙女的教父。他称这是一个“纯粹的基督教徒所做的事”。安格尔是康斯坦察当地一个从未受过教育的恶棍，他在东欧剧变之后通过售卖从铁轨和其他废气设施偷得的废金属而发家。
The scandal comes just five months before presidential elections in which Mr Basescu cannot run again. It is a final blow to a scattered centre-right and a boon to the Social Democratic prime minister, Victor Ponta, who now hopes to become president himself. Mr Ponta and his allies have called on Mr Basescu to step down early in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary. “I think that not only Traian Basescu, but any president in a European country, faced with such a situation, should resign immediately in order to dispel any doubts that from his position he can influence the probe,” he said.
丑闻在离总统选举前仅五个月的时候曝光，而伯塞斯库也无法再参选了。这是给原本已经支离破碎的中右翼政党的最后一击，也是给社会民主党的总理维克多·彭塔的福利，他希望自己可以当选总理。庞塔和他的伙伴曾拜访伯塞斯库希望他早点辞职以维护司法独立性。“我认为不仅仅是特拉扬·伯塞斯库，欧洲所有国家面临过这种境况的总统都会立即辞职来打消认为他利用职位之便影响调查的任何怀疑。”他认为。
Yet at least for now, Mr Basescu refuses to quit, since there is no evidence of his intervening in the Anghel case. His election in 2004 was based not just on his popular stand against corruption, but also on hopes that he would help to shepherd Romania into the European Union, which it joined three years later. His nemesis and predecessor, Adrian Nastase, was put behind bars for corruption, along with many other ministers, MPs and judges caught red-handed.
但至少目前，伯塞斯库拒绝辞职，因为并没有他干涉安格尔案子的证据。他赢得2004年选举不仅是因为他反对腐败这个受欢迎的立场，还因为他希望他可以带领罗马尼亚加入欧盟，三年之后他确实做到了这一点。他的主要对手同时也是前辈艾德里安·纳斯塔斯曾因为贪污被监禁，与艾德里安一起被抓正在作案的还有很多其他的部长、国会议员与法官。
Yet his rivals and opponents have always accused Mr Basescu of going only after political enemies, turning a blind eye to corruption in his own party ranks. Laura Stefan from Expert Forum, a Bucharest-based think-tank, says the Anghel case shows that justice is finally working independently, since even the president's brother is being put behind bars. “Surely this is no pleasant situation. Many politicians would choose differently and rather back their friends and relatives,” she says. She is sceptical that the case will be a big issue in the presidential election.
但他的对手和反对者们经常指责伯塞斯库只顾对政敌揪着不放，对于自己党派的贪污视而不见。位于布加勒斯特的智库专家论坛的专家劳拉·斯蒂芬认为安格尔的案子说明司法体系最终正在独立运行，因为就连总统的弟弟也没能逃脱制裁。“这确实不是一个好境况。很多政治家会做出其他选择而而宁愿袒护他们犯错的亲友。”她称。同时她也怀疑这个案子会成为总统选举的一个大事件。
“The Social Democrats are riding high in opinion polls, they don't need this agenda. Mr Ponta basically has no counter-candidate,” says Ms Stefan. Opinion polls put Mr Ponta at over 45-51% in voters' preference. The economy is improving, as is the country's ability to absorb EU funds. The recent arrest of a media-owning businessman has stirred concerns over freedom of the press, but to many voters it is a welcome sign of an improving judicial system.
社会民主党在民意调查中遥遥领先，他们不需要操心工作议程。庞塔基本没有重要对手。“斯蒂芬认为。民意调查显示庞塔拥有约45%—50%的民意支持。经济正在提升，这也是罗马尼亚吸收欧盟基金的能力体现。最近对经营媒体的商人引发了人们对新闻自由的担忧，但对于很多选民来讲，这正是司法体系正在改进的体现。
An attempt to reunite parts of the centre-right, with the Liberal Democrats joining forces with the Liberals, formerly allies of Mr Ponta's, may be the only real threat. This group wants to put Klaus Johannis, an ethnic German who is mayor of the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, forward against Mr Ponta. Mr Johannis has done some controversial property deals, but he is the country's second-most popular politician. Even so, at around 23-26%, he is far behind Mr Ponta, who looks almost certain to succeed the sea captain in the winter.
将中右翼党派团结起来的一个尝试因为自由民主党加入自由党，即庞塔党派之前的同盟党，这或许是唯一真正的威胁。这个组织想要将一个德意志民族的人、同时也是锡比乌县特兰西瓦尼亚市市长克劳斯·约翰尼斯推出来对抗庞塔。约翰尼斯有过一些有争议的房地产交易，但他是罗马尼亚第二受欢迎的政治家。即便这样，他的支持率只有23%—26%，远低于庞塔的支持率。看样子庞塔已经基本上可以确定今年冬天可以获得胜利了。
