AFTER five days of talks Greece is no nearer to forming a government than at the start of the week. A triumphant Alexis Tsipras, whose radical left coalition Syriza came second in the general election held on May 6th, appears to be gambling on his momentum being sustained should a fresh election be held. An opinion poll published on May 11th showed that 28% of voters would back Syriza, a big increase from the 17% it won on polling day. That would put the leftists ahead of their rivals but still leave them a dozen or so seats short of an overall majority in the 300-member parliament. Mr Tsipras could then become Greece’s next prime minister with backing from other leftwing parties and perhaps, even, the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which lost many votes to Syriza.
经历了五天的谈判后，希腊仍与本周开始时一样在组建政府的议题上未有丝毫进展。激进的左翼联盟（Syriza）在5月6日举行的大选中窜升到第二的位置，其洋溢着胜利喜悦情绪的领导人齐普拉斯（Alexis Tsipras）显然打算押注于它的上升势头能维持到举行重新选举。5月11日发布的一次民调显示，28%的选民将会支持左翼联盟，这是自其选举当天赢得17%选票以来其支持率的一个大幅增长。左翼联盟将会因此一举超越其所有竞争对手，但它仍然欠缺十余个议席才能在总共300个席位的议会中取得绝对多数。齐普拉斯因而可能会在其它左翼政党的支持下成为下一任希腊总理，或许，甚至连因其丢失了许多选票的泛希腊社会主义运动也会支持它。
On the evening of May 11th Mr Tsipras appeared to squelch hopes of forming a three-party coalition with Pasok and the centre-right New Democracy party, claiming their leaders were not taking him seriously. A slim chance of forming a government remains: a meeting of the leaders of all the parties represented in parliament chaired by President Karolos Papoulias is expected to take place on May 14th. Politicians are sceptical that it will bring results; all three parties are already gearing up for a second election to be held on either June 10th or 17th. A caretaker government under a high state official—a lawyer or judge—would run the country meanwhile.
而齐普拉斯看来已经摧毁了与泛希腊社会主义运动及中间偏右的新民主党组建三党联盟的希望，5月11日晚，他宣称这两党的领导人都没有把他当回事。组建政府仍存一线生机：全体政党领导人代表会议预定于5月14日在由总统卡罗洛斯·帕普利亚斯（Karolos Papoulias）主持的议会中召开。政客们对取得成果持怀疑态度；所有三个政党都已经紧锣密鼓地加速筹备预定于6月10日或者6月17日举行的第二次选举。与此同时，由一位精英官员——一位律师或者是法官——掌管的一个看守政府将会运作这个国家。
Members of Syriza, a fractious coalition of a dozen leftist parties from moderate pro-euro groups to radical revolutionaries, appeared overwhelmed by their unexpected success: the grouping came close to quadrupling its share of the vote. Mr Tsipras is its undisputed boss: he serves as the leader of Synaspismos, Greece’s former euro-communist party and the political home in the 1980s of many of the country’s intellectuals, which claims an 80% stake in the coalition.
左翼联盟是一个由十余个从温和的支持欧元团体演变成激进改革者的政党所组成的难以驾驭的联盟，其成员似乎被他们意想不到的成功所淹没：该集团的得票率几乎翻了两番。齐普拉斯是其无可争议的领袖：他担任左翼生态联盟（Synaspismos）的领导人，该联盟曾是希腊的前欧洲共产主义政党，以及在上世纪80年代曾是该国许多知识份子的政治家园，其宣称在左翼联盟中享有80%的话语权。
Mr Tsipras insists that Greece can renegotiate the austerity programme agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund in return for a €130 billion ($168 billion) bailout, yet remain in the euro—a policy based on advice from at least three Greek university professors, a former communist who served briefly as finance minister and a senior trade unionist. This week they shrugged off warnings from Brussels and Berlin that Greece must stick to its current reform programme—which includes another €11.5 billion of spending cuts to be legislated by the incoming parliament—or risk having to leave the single currency.
齐普拉斯坚持希腊能够重新谈判为换取1300亿欧元（1680亿美元）援助而与欧盟及国际货币基金组织达成的紧缩计划，但仍然会让希腊留在欧元区——这是一个基于来自至少三位希腊大学教授，一位曾短暂担任经济部长的前共产主义者以及一位资深工会会员建议所产生的政策。本周他们没有理会来自布鲁塞尔及柏林的警告，该警告要求希腊必须坚持其当前改革计划——该计划包括另一项将由即将产生的议会立法通过的115亿欧元开支削减——否则，将承担不得不退出这个单一货币的风险。
Greece’s political class is reeling at the sudden rise of the left. Yet it is hardly surprising: the unemployment rate reached 21.7% in February, a new record. Youth unemployment is far higher at 53.8%. The social safety net is fraying under the strain of austerity: there are no longer any subsidies for hiring young workers on temporary contracts, while benefits for the long-term unemployed are minimal. “People are becoming desperate,” says Thanassis Sotiropoulos, one of many supermarket owners who contribute food close to its expiry date to a charity that distributes it to soup kitchens around Athens.
希腊各政治阶层对左翼的突然崛起大感晕头转向。然而这也毫不令人意外：二月份失业率达到创记录的21.7%。年轻人失业率更是高达53.8%。社会保障体系在紧缩措施的重压下正在瓦解：签订暂时合同的年轻工作者不再享有任何津贴，与此同时长期雇员的福利也大幅缩水。“人们越来越感到绝望，”索地洛波罗斯（Thanassis Sotiropoulos）说道 ，他是众多把将要过期的食物捐献给一家慈善机构的超市业主中的一员，而这家慈善机构将这些捐赠食物分发给雅典周边的救济厨房。
There are already calls for Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy leader, and Evangelos Venizelos, his Pasok opposite number, to make way for politicians closer in age to the 37-year-old Mr Tsipras. No strong candidates have yet emerged in either party. Both leaders are expected to fight the next election—yet they may find themselves forced to resign the next day. Greece is adrift but in desperate need of a competent captain.
已经有人呼吁新民主党领导人安东尼斯·萨马拉斯（Antonis Samaras），以及泛希腊社会主义运动领导人维尼泽罗斯（vangelos Venizelos）要让位给与37岁的齐普拉斯年龄更为接近的从政人员。然而上述两党仍然没有出现任何强有力的候选人。预计这两位领导人都将竞逐下一次选举——然而他们可能发现自己将会在选后第两天被迫辞职。希腊正在盲目飘流，但它极度需要一位能干的船长。