041《经济学家》读译参考之四十一：祸起意大利－贝鲁斯科尼公式全球适用.doc

TEXT 41 The bane of Italy 祸起意大利（陈继龙 编译） Jun 29th 2006 From The Economist print edition ALEXANDER STILLES new book on Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant[1] former Italian prime minister, is neither a b________① nor a work of investigative journalism. Its real value is that it represents the first attempt, in English at least, to recount in a readable fashion the story, not of Mr Berlusconi himself, but of Berlusconi-ism. （1）That gives it a wide appeal, for, as its author argues persuasively, Berlusconi-ism is the extrapolation[2] to grotesque[3] extremes of a phenomenon that has gradually, and all too imperceptibly, become widespread. 亚历山大·斯蒂莱的新作写的是个性张扬的意大利前任总理西尔维奥·贝鲁斯科尼，但它并非是一本传记，也不是新闻调查作品。其真正的价值在于，它首次尝试以一种可读性较强的风格，记述了“贝鲁斯科尼主义”而不是贝鲁斯科尼的生平。这也是本书独具魅力之所在，因为诚如作者很有说服力地论证的那样，“贝鲁斯科尼主义”是对某种现象怪诞至极时的推论，这种现象日趋普遍而所有人却都浑然不觉。 Mr Stille is at his best when he describes how a man with a corporation with billions of dollars of d_______② succeeded in less than eight months, between 1993 and 1994, in turning himself into his countrys leader. （2）Along the way, he identifies various keys to Mr Berlusconis success. 斯蒂莱先生最出彩的描写是，一个拥有一家债台高筑的公司的人，如何在1993年至1994年间的短短8个月内，成功地使自己成为国家领导人。他在书中一一揭示了贝鲁斯科尼的成功要诀。 One was the u________③ application of modern business methods to Italian politics. Mr Berlusconis campaign organisers set up pay-as-you-go[4] phone numbers so voters paid to listen to Mr Berlusconi and the stars of his television empire. Party candidates were required to spend the equivalent of $800 on a kit, similar to a salesmans kit, with a manual on how to communicate with voters. Advice included: “___________________________” （要是你上公共厕所，但厕所很脏，那就弄干净它，否则随后进来的人会以为是你弄脏的。） 其一，史无前例地将现代商业手段运用于意大利政治。贝鲁斯科尼的竞选策划人开通了付费电话，选民可以付费打电话给贝鲁斯科尼及其所属电视集团的明星们。党内各候选人必须花800美元购置一个工具包（类似于销售员的工具包），包里面揣一本选民沟通指南。其中指导建议包括：“要是你上公共厕所，但厕所很脏，那就弄干净它，否则随后进来的人会以为是你弄脏的。” （3）Then there was Mr Berlusconis own exploitation of “anti-politics”, his depiction of himself as an outsider—a technique that allowed him to tap into a ri