◎俞智敏
A gaffe by France’s first lady has exposed the difficult tightrope that presidential spouses have to walk as they kiss goodbye to their private lives and follow their partners into the public glare.
法國第一夫人最近捅出的樓子,暴露出總統配偶們在向私生活告別、跟著另一半走進眾人注目焦點後所必須小心面對的艱難處境。
A tweet by Valerie Trierweiler wishing luck to an election opponent of Segolene Royal -- the ex-partner of her companion and the new President Francois Hollande -- has unleashed a political furor, with even the prime minister suggesting she needs to learn discretion.
崔威勒在推特上發文祝賀賀雅爾女士的競選對手好運,而賀雅爾正是新總統歐蘭德的前任伴侶,因此引發了一場政治風暴,就連法國總理都暗示她必須學習謹慎行事。
Wives and husbands are often viewed with suspicion as they move into the presidential residence, amid deep-seatedr fears that they will hold greater sway over their spouse than his advisors or even the people who elected him.
總統的妻子和丈夫在搬進總統官邸時,經常被人投以懷疑眼光,外界對於他們對另一半的影響力可能遠超過總統顧問,或是投票讓他當上總統的選民,總有著根深柢固的恐懼。
Remarks by Bill Clinton during the 1992 Democratic primaries that if elected his smart lawyer wife, Hillary, would mean the country would get "two for the price of one" had many opponents and some supporters squirming.
例如美國前總統柯林頓1992年在民主黨初選期間表示,假如他當選總統,由於他擔任律師的妻子希拉蕊非常聰明,這表示國家等於是「買一送一」,就讓許多政敵和部分支持者感到侷促不安。
The ill-disguised suspicions around her own political ambitions and concern at the power she was wielding behind the scenes plagued her as soon as the couple entered the White House in January 1993. (AFP)
外界對於她個人政治野心,以及她在幕後所掌握權力的疑慮,打從柯林頓夫婦於1993年1月進入白宮起就幾乎毫不遮掩地展露無遺,讓希拉蕊苦惱不已。(法新社)
新聞辭典
walk a tightrope:片語,指處境非常危險,必須小心翼翼、如履薄冰,如Many manufacturers have to walk a tightrope between overpricing their goods and pricing them so low that they make no profit.(許多製造商必須在把商品價格訂得過高,以及價格低到無利可圖之間謹慎考量。)
deep-seated:形容詞,指根深柢固的、最深層的,如The problems are far more deep-seated than we thought.(這些問題比我們原本預期的更難消除。)
hold sway:指對某事有控制權或擁有強大影響力,如The ancient Romans held sway over most of Europe.(古羅馬人曾控制了歐洲大部分地區。)
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