金融時報:西班牙前首相蘇亞雷斯

西班牙前首相蘇亞雷斯

近日宣布退位的西班牙國王胡安·卡洛斯以挫敗政變、推動了西班牙的民主轉(zhuǎn)型而著稱，而這幕后的重要人物，是在今年逝世的西班牙第一位民選首相阿道弗·蘇亞雷斯。來了解一下這位深刻塑造了今天的西班牙的人物吧。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

dukedom ['dju:kd?m] 公爵爵位

bombastic [b?m'bæst?k] 言過其實的

state prosecutor 國家公訴人

Castilian [kæ'stilj?n] 卡斯蒂利亞的，卡斯蒂利亞即西班牙王國的主體

bullfighter ['bul,fait?] 斗牛士

Madrid Bar Associatio 這里的bar是律師業(yè)的意思

echelon ['e??l?n; 'e??-] 梯隊，階層

protégé[?pr?t??e?] 門徒

abortive [?'b??t?v] 失敗的，流產(chǎn)的

Spain's first freely elected premier after Franco era dies at 81 (821 words)

By Marc Rattray ，March 23, 2014 10:16 pm

Adolfo Suárez, who has died aged 81, drove through Spain's peaceful transition to democracy after 41 years of dictatorship under Franco.

After setting up a new party, the Unión de Centro Democratico, he was elected as the newly liberated country's first freely elected prime minister in 1977 and was re-elected for a second term in office in 1979. In 1981, some months after his resignation, he won the admiration of the world by standing up and arguing with a pistol-waving member of the civil guard, who stormed parliament in a vain attempt at a coup d'état. He was the only parliamentarian, with the exception of Lt Gen Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado and the Communist leader Santiago Carrillo, who refused to lie down and take cover when the guardsmen began firing on live television. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded a dukedom by the king.

Described by Felipe González, a Socialist successor, as a “clever man without an ideology”, he proved particularly adept at dismantling the key aspects of Franco's administration, having himself risen through its ranks in his early career. It was he who piloted through a new constitution, legalised trade unions and delicately depoliticised the armed forces by dismissing fascist politicians and generals. It was on his orders that the dismantling of the Cortes was approved, the body which prepared, elaborated and approved laws in Spain. And it was he who offered, to the disgust of many in the ancien regime, full political rights to the Communist party. His office saw the introduction of a new style of politics, which replaced the bombastic and threatening style of Franco's regime with a new willingness to listen.

Adolfo Suárez González, one of five children of a state prosecutor, was born in 1932 in Cebreros, a Castilian village of 5,000 inhabitants near Avila. His family was drawn from the comfortable middle classes and were strongly Catholic in an area of Spain well known for its religious feeling. A handsome young man, his faith was sufficiently strong to make many of the young women in his village concerned that he would one day become a priest. Instead, after a brief stint as an amateur bullfighter, he enrolled at Salamanca University and later joined the Madrid Bar Association.

A chance meeting then occurred that would change his life. He met Fernando Herrero Tejedor, one of the grandees of Franco's regime. Although drawn from the higher echelons of the government, Tejedor was by no means a hardline conservative. As a member of Opus Dei, he was also proudly Catholic and Suárez became his protégé.

Suárez was able to find his first steps on the sprawling apparatus of Franco's regime through Tejedor. Despite showing little commitment to the fascist doctrine he was able to rise through the ranks of the administration by becoming close to the right people. He was also extremely able and hardworking. By 1969, he had become head of television, where he was careful to apply the restraints on the media that high-ranking army officers required.

His new position formed the basis of a later alliance with the king. Instead of informing Juan Carlos, who was then a prince, of the latest government position on a programme, he consulted him and the two men formed a bond. After Franco's death in 1975, and against all expectation that the king would choose someone so young, Suárez was appointed the interim prime minister.

Suárez's looks, youth and anonymous background made him an attractive symbol of a new Spain. An eminently practical man, he was able to view dispassionately the practical consequences of different ideologies. Critically, he was not swayed by the familiar demons of Marxism, republicanism and nationalism and managed to steer an even course to democracy in an uneasy political climate.

Undoubtedly benefiting from his interim role, he won Spain's first democratic election of the post-fascist era in 1977 at the head of the UCD. He had formed the party just two months before the elections and it was bound together by little more than a will to be in power and Suárez's personality.

Despite protracted recessions and the constant thorn of Basque terrorism in the side of the newly formed government, democracy brought economic benefits to Spain. Large international companies such as Ford and General Motors invested billions of dollars in the country. Political stability brought with it the base of a later, more sustained economic growth that accompanied a maturing, liberalised Spain.

Suárez, who is survived by four of his five children, resigned from the premiership and the leadership of the UCD amid party infighting in 1981. He had objected to its move from the centre to the right. After an abortive attempt to bring to power a second party, the Centro Democrático y Social, he bowed out of party politics for good in 1991.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1.What happened the earliest in Suarez's life?

A.Knowing the liberal-minded high-ranking officer Tejedor.

B.Serving as a state prosecutor.

C.Meeting the King Juan Carlos.

D.Working as a amateur bullfighter briefly.

答案(1)

2.What do we know about Suarez and the famous coup d'état?

A.Suarez was the target of assasination of the coup soldiers.

B.Suarez was one of the three people who dared to confront the soldiers.

C.Suarez talked to the rebels and persuaded them to lay down the guns.

D.Suarez used this as an excuse to dismiss fascist politicians and generals.

答案(2)

3.Which of the following is not what he had done to democratize Spain?

A.He dismantled Franco's administration.

B.He announced the Communist party illegal.

C.He legalized trade unions and party movements.

D.He piloted Spain to a new constitution.

答案(3)

4.What might be the best description of PM Adolfo Suarez?

A.Loyal.

B.Religious.

C.Practical.

D.Eccentric.

答案(4)

* * *

(1)答案：D.Working as a amateur bullfighter briefly.

解釋：蘇亞雷斯早年的趣聞：家鄉(xiāng)的姑娘們怕他去當(dāng)牧師，但他做了一段時間的業(yè)余斗牛士后上大學(xué)當(dāng)律師去了。之后是結(jié)識Tejedor，然后被引見給卡洛斯王子。這就是時間軸上一半的事件了。

(2)答案：B.Suarez was one of the three people who dared to confront the soldiers.

解釋：ACD都很像是電影中自然而然的情節(jié)，但文中無據(jù)可循。細心的話你會注意到1981年政變的時候蘇亞雷斯已經(jīng)辭職了。

(3)答案：B.He announced the Communist party illegal.

解釋：弗朗哥政權(quán)的一大國策就是反共，蘇亞雷斯不顧守舊派的反對將西班牙共產(chǎn)黨的活動合法化。

(4)答案：C.Practical.

解釋：文中不止一次提到他的這一特點，繼任他的首相評價說他是“clever man without an ideology”，倒數(shù)第四段提到他沒有陷入各種主義之間的漩渦，他組建了一個沒有明確意識形態(tài)的松散政黨，以及他最后徹底退出政壇等，都是重要論據(jù)。看到這些獨立的故事的時候，你需要考慮它們放在一起是體現(xiàn)了主人公什么樣的特點或品質(zhì)。