Cigar-toting Rajoy jars with Spanish austerity ─叼著雪茄的拉霍伊總理與西班牙撙節措施不一致

Pictures of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy enjoying a cigar on New York’s Sixth Avenue were splashed across Spanish newspapers recently as his government prepared to unveil unprecedented austerity measures.

西班牙總理拉霍伊在紐約第六大道上享用雪茄的照片最近登上西國各大報紙，而西國政府此時正準備宣布史無前例的嚴苛撙節措施。

The conservative leader’s conspicuous taste for the finer things in life jarred as he asks Spaniards to accept yet more painful sacrifices to restore public finances.

這位保守派領袖對生活中華美事物的明顯偏好，跟他要求西班牙人民接受更痛苦的犧牲以重建公共財務的說法並不相符。

Some Spaniards said on Twitter the photo of Rajoy outside Radio City Music Hall reminded them of Marie-Antoinette, the queen beheaded during the French revolution after reportedly saying that people should eat cake if they had no bread.

有些西班牙網友在推特上表示，拉霍伊在無線電城音樂廳外抽雪茄的照片讓他們想到瑪麗安東妮，這位在法國大革命中遭到砍頭的皇后據稱曾說過，假如人民沒有麵包可吃，那就改吃蛋糕。

A spokeswoman for Rajoy said the prime minister had been on an especially tight schedule in New York -- meeting other leaders, addressing the United Nations and giving media interviews -- and the short walk was his only breather.

拉霍伊發言人則說，總理在紐約的行程非常緊湊，包括會見其他領袖、在聯合國大會發表演說和接受媒體訪問等，這短短的散步時間是他唯一的喘息機會。

As the country braces for another likely rescue package with one in four Spanish workers unemployed, his cigar-toting lifestyle seems to jar even more with a grim, angry national mood.

正當西班牙準備接受另一項紓困方案，全國4分之1勞工失業之際，拉霍伊哈雪茄的生活方式似乎與絕望、憤怒的國家氣氛更加格格不入 。

Many European policymakers, market analysts and even Spanish government officials say poor communication has done as much to keep Spain in the firing line of the euro zone debt crisis as the country’s inherent economic problems.（Reuters）

許多歐洲決策者、市場分析家和就連西國政府官員都說，除了國家原本的經濟問題外，政府對外溝通技術欠佳也是造成西班牙在歐債危機中招致各方批評的原因。（路透）

新聞辭典

jar with：與某事不一致，如This comment jars with the opinions we have heard expressed elsewhere.（這段評論跟我們先前在其他地方聽到的意見並不相符。）

breather：名詞，非正式用法，指短暫的休息、喘息時間，如He’d been working hard and felt he needed （to have/take） a breather.（在努力埋頭工作後，他覺得必須稍微休息一下。）

in the firing line：片語，指先頭部隊、或站在（爭論或活動等的）第一線，容易遭到批評、攻擊或擺脫，如He found himself in the firing line for his sexist remarks.（他因為發表了性別歧視的言論而陷入遭各方圍剿的處境。）