[Annotated] Theresa May's failed gamble

The Conservatives' botched^[각주:1] campaign will bring chaos - and opportunities

Her political career has been defined by caution. So it is cruel for Theresa May, and delicious for her enemies, that it may have been ended by one big, disastrous gamble. Eight weeks ago she called a snap election^[각주:2], risking her government for the chance to bank^[각주:3] a bigger majority against an apparently shambolic^[각주:4] Labour^[각주:5] opposition. With the Conservatives 20 points ahead^[각주:6] in the opinion polls^[각주:7], it looked like a one-way^[각주:8] bet to a landslide^[각주:9] and a renewed^[각주:10] five-year term for her party. But there followed^[각주:11] one of the most dramatic collapses^[각주:12] in British political history. As we went to press^[각주:13] in the early hours of June 9th, the Tories were on course to lose seats, and perhaps their majority.

The balance of forces in Parliament means that any number of outcomes is possible. But none of them will be the "strong and stable" government that Mrs May said the country needed when she called the vote. The talk back then was of a Conservative majority of over 100 MPs^[각주:14]. The best case for the Tories today is a wafer-thin^[각주:15] majority under a prime minister whose authority may never recover. Labour's only hope of forming a government would be through^[각주:16] a gravity-defying^[각주:17] deal with other parties. Another election - Britain's fourth national poll^[각주:18] in little more than two years - may be on the way. 

Things fall apart

Whoever becomes prime minister will very soon have to grapple with^[각주:19] three crises. First is the chronic instability^[각주:20] that has taken hold of^[각주:21] Britain's politics, and which will be hard to suppress. This week's poll reveals a divided^[각주:22] country - between outward-^[각주:23] and inward-looking^[각주:24] voters, young and old, the cosmopolitan cities^[각주:25] and the rest, nationalists and unionists^[각주:26]. 

The parties are in flux^[각주:27]. Mrs May has led the Tories in a more statist^[각주:28], illiberal^[각주:29] direction, with heavier regulations^[각주:30] on firms and strict limits on^[각주:31] immigration. Thatcherites^[각주:32], who stifled^[각주:33] their criticism out of a sense of duty^[각주:34] or ambition, will be sharpening^[각주:35] their knives. Labour, which under Tony Blair found an accommodation with^[각주:36] the market, has morphed back into^[각주:37] a hard-left^[각주:38] socialist party^[각주:39] under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn - who, in contrast to^[각주:40] Mrs May, is now unassailable^[각주:41]. South of the Scottish border, two-party politics is back, after the collapse of the UK Independence Party and a disappointing^[각주:42] campaign by the Liberal Democrats^[각주:43]. North of the border, the Scottish Nationalists, while still in charge^[각주:44], lost enough seats to cast doubt over^[각주:45] a second independence referendum^[각주:46]. 

Second, the economy is heading for the rocks^[각주:47] in a way that few have yet registered^[각주:48]. Whereas^[각주:49] in 2016 the economy defied the Brexit referendum to grow at the fastest pace in the G7, in the first quarter of this year it was the slowest. Unemployment is at its lowest in decades^[각주:50], but with inflation at a three-year high and rising, real wages^[각주:51] are falling. Tax revenues^[각주:52] and growth will suffer as inward investment^[각주:53] falls and net migration of^[각주:54] skilled Europeans tails off^[각주:55]. Voters are blissfully^[각주:56] unaware of the coming crunch^[각주:57]. Just when they have signaled at the ballot box^[각주:58] that they have had enough of austerity^[각주:59], they are about to face even harder times. 

And third is the beginning, in just 11 days, of the most important negotiation Britain has attempted in peacetime^[각주:60]. Brexit involves dismantling^[각주:61] an economic and political arrangement^[각주:62] that has been put together^[각주:63] over half a century, linking Britain to the bloc^[각주:64] to which it sends half its goods exports, from which come half its migrants^[각주:65], and which has helped to keep the peace in Europe and beyond. 

Brexit's complexity^[각주:66] is on a scale that Britain's political class has wilfully^[각주:67] ignored. Quite apart from^[각주:68] failing to spell out^[각주:69] how to negotiate history's trickiest-ever divorce, no politician has seriously answered the question of how the economic pain of^[각주:70] Brexit will be shared. Less trade, lower growth and fewer migrants will mean higher taxes and lower public spending^[각주:71]. Voters seem resigned to the fact that they were duped by^[각주:72] promises of a Brexit dividend of^[각주:73] more cash for the National Health Service. No one has prepared them for the scale of the hardship they will endure in its name^[각주:74]. 

Mrs May said that her reason for calling the election was to get a mandate^[각주:75] to negotiate Brexit along the lines she set out^[각주:76] in January: to leave the single market and to press ahead with^[각주:77] cuts to immigration that no one considers feasible^[각주:78]. During the campaign, she added nothing to her thin Brexit strategy beyond resurrecting^[각주:79] the fatuous^[각주:80] slogan that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Let us be clear: after this vote there is no mandate for such an approach. Only an enemy of the people would now try to ignore the election and press ahead regardless^[각주:81] with the masochistic^[각주:82] version of Brexit that Mrs May put to voters^[각주:83]. There are not grounds to reverse^[각주:84] the referendum result - though Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader, warns that a new referendum may be coming. But the hard Brexit that Mrs May put at the center of her campaign has been rejected. It must be rethought^[각주:85]. 

The center can hold

What can come of^[각주:86] this chaos? Britain is not the only country reeling from electoral shock^[각주:87]. But whereas others were campaigned for by new leaders - Donald Trump in America, Emmanuel Macron in France - Britain's rumbling^[각주:88] revolt^[각주:89] has left no one in charge. Mr Corbyn's grip on^[각주:90] Labour has been strengthened^[각주:91], but the party is far from winning a majority. The Tories remain the biggest party, but their leader is a busted flush^[각주:92] and has no obvious successor. The Lib Dems^[각주:93] remain tiny. 

And yet it is just possible that something better may rise from the ashes^[각주:94]. Last week we lent our backing^[각주:95] to^[각주:96] the Lib Dems in this election, not because we thought they would win, but because we identified a new gap in the radical center of^[각주:97] British politics that was being neglected. The election result suggests that voters, too, are not much convinced by the inward-looking bent of^[각주:98] either Mrs May's Conservatives or the hard-left factionalism^[각주:99] of Mr Corbyn's Labour. Our backing of the Lib Dems was a "down-payment^[각주:100]" for the future. As the Tories ponder^[각주:101] a new leader to replace the tragic Mrs May, that liberal future is once more in play^[각주:102]. 

1. botch ; [타동사][VN] ~ sth (up) (비격식) (서투른 솜씨로) 망치다 [본문으로]
2. snap election ; An election that the ruler or party which is in power calls before the regularly scheduled election time, in order to serve a political purpose. [본문으로]
3. bank ; 흐름상 "bigger majority를 준비하다, 구성하다, 예비하다, 계획하다" 정도의 의미로 보임 [본문으로]
4. shambolic ; [형용사] (英 비격식) 난장판인, 엉망인 ;; US [ʃӕm|bɑ:lɪk] UK [ʃӕm|bɒlɪk] [본문으로]
5. the Labour party ; [명사] (영국의) 노동당 [본문으로]
6. ahead ; (구동사에 쓰이는 ahead의 특별한 쓰임에 대해서는 해당 동사 항목을 보라. 예를 들어 press ahead (with sth)는 press의 구동사 부분에 있다.) 1. (공간・시간상으로) 앞으로, 앞에 [본문으로]
7. opinion poll ; 여론 조사 [본문으로]
8. one-way ; 3. 한쪽 방향으로만 작동되는, 일방적인 [본문으로]
9. landslide ; 2. (선거에서) 압도적인 득표[승리] [본문으로]
10. renew ; 2. 갱신[연장]하다 [본문으로]
11. there follow ~ ; ~가 뒤따라, 뒤이어 있다, 나타난다, 드러난다 [본문으로]
12. collapse ; 1. FAILURE | [C , U] [주로 단수로] (제도・사업 등의 갑작스런) 실패[붕괴] [본문으로]
13. go to press ; 편집을 마감하다 [본문으로]
14. MP ; [명사] 하원 의원(Member of Parliament) [본문으로]
15. wafer-thin ; [형용사] 아주 얇은 ;; 참고 paper-thin [본문으로]
16. be through ; to have finished using or doing something; to have finished a relationship with somebody [본문으로]
17. gravity-defying ; 중력에 도전하는 ;; "일반적인 흐름이나 통념에 정면으로 반하는" 정도의 의미 [본문으로]
18. national poll ; 전국 여론조사. [본문으로]
19. grapple with ; ~을 해결하려고 노력하다 [본문으로]
20. chronic instability ; 장기적인 불안정 [본문으로]
21. take hold of[on] ; <유형·무형의 것을> 잡다, 쥐다, 제어[조종]하다 [본문으로]
22. divided ; [형용사] 집단・단체가 분열된 [본문으로]
23. outward-looking ; 외부 지향적 [본문으로]
24. inward-looking ; 내부지향적, [명사] 내향적인; 자기와 무관한 일[사람]에 관심이 없는. [본문으로]
25. cosmopolitan city ; 국제 도시 [본문으로]
26. unionist ; 2. Union・ist (북아일랜드와 영국) 통합론주의자 [본문으로]
27. be in flux ; 항상 변하다, 유동적이다 [본문으로]
28. statist ; 2. 국가 통제주의자 [본문으로]
29. illiberal ; [형용사] (격식) 자유를 제한하는 [본문으로]
30. regulation ; 1. [C] [주로 복수로] 규정 [본문으로]
31. strict limit on ; ~에 대한 엄격한 제한 [본문으로]
32. Thatcherite ; [형용사] 대처 정책의; 대처 정책을 지지하는 [본문으로]
33. stifle ; 1. [타동사][VN] (감정 등을) 억누르다, 억압하다 [본문으로]
34. out of a sense of duty ; 책임감에서. [본문으로]
35. sharpen ; 1. 날카롭게[선명하게] 하다, (날카롭게) 갈다[깎다]; 날카로워지다, 선명해지다 [본문으로]
36. reach[find] an accommodation with ; ~와 화해에 이르다, 화해하다 [본문으로]
37. morph ; 2. 변하다, 바뀌다; 바꾸다 [본문으로]
38. hard-left ; [명사] (특히 英) 극좌파 [본문으로]
39. socialist party ; 3. (구어) 영국 노동당 [본문으로]
40. in contrast to ; …에 대한, ~와 대조되는 [본문으로]
41. unassailable ; [형용사] (격식) 난공불락의 [본문으로]
42. disappointing ; [형용사] 실망스러운, 기대에 못 미치는 [본문으로]
43. the Liberal Democrat ; [명사] Lib Dem 자유민주당원; 자유민주당 지지자 [본문으로]
44. in charge ; …을 맡은, 담당인 [본문으로]
45. cast doubt over ; ~에 대해 의구심을 가지다, 품다 [본문으로]
46. independence referendum ; 흐름상 "스코틀랜드 독립 투표" [본문으로]
47. head for the rock ; 최악의 상태로 치닫고 있다. [본문으로]
48. register ; 2. GIVE OPINION PUBLICLY | [타동사][VN] (격식) (견해를) 표명하다 [본문으로]
49. whereas ; [접속사] 1. (두 가지 사실을 비교・대조할 때 씀) [본문으로]
50. in decades ; 수 십년 만에 [본문으로]
51. real wage ; [명사] 실질 임금; 임금의 실질적인 가치를 나타내는 금액. [본문으로]
52. tax revenues ; 세제수입(稅諸收入). [본문으로]
53. inward investment ; [명사] (상업) (특정 국가 내에서의) 내부 투자 [본문으로]
54. net migration ; [명사] (지리학) 순인구 이동(純人口移動) [본문으로]
55. tail off ; 차츰 감소하다[시키다], (목소리가) 가늘어지다[지게 하다] [본문으로]
56. blissfully ; [부사] 더 없이 행복하게 ; 기쁨에 겨워. [본문으로]
57. crunch ; 3. [C] (주로 단수로 특히 美) (무엇이, 특히 돈이, 갑자기 부족한) 부족 사태 [본문으로]
58. ballot box ; 1. [C] 투표함 2. [sing.] the ballot box (비밀) 투표 제도 [본문으로]
59. austerity ; (pl. -ies) 1. [U] 내핍 상태 [본문으로]
60. in peacetime ; 평시에 [본문으로]
61. dismantle ; 2. (조직・체제를) 해체하다 [본문으로]
62. arrangement ; 3. [C , U] ~ (with sb) (to do sth) 합의, 협의 [본문으로]
63. put together ; (부품을) 조립하다, (이것저것을 모아) 만들다[준비하다] [본문으로]
64. bloc ; [명사] (국가간의) 연합[블록] ;; 참고 en bloc [본문으로]
65. half ; 한정사-대명사 1. 반[절반](의) [본문으로]
66. complexity ; 1. [U] 복잡성, 복잡함 [본문으로]
67. wilfully ; [부사] 고의로, 계획[의도]적으로. [본문으로]
68. apart from ; 2. …외에도[뿐만 아니라] [본문으로]
69. spell out ; [동사] 판독하다; 상세히[명백히] 설명하다; 철자를 말하다, 생략하지 않고 전부 쓰다. ;; 동의어 discern; explain explicitly; write out in full. [본문으로]
70. economic pain ; 경제적인 고통, 어려움 [본문으로]
71. public spending ; [명사] 공공 지출 ;; 동의어 public expenditure [본문으로]
72. dupe ; [타동사][VN] ~ sb (into doing sth) 속이다, 사기를 치다 [본문으로]
73. dividend ; 1. 배당금 [본문으로]
74. in one's name ; 자기 이름으로, 독자적으로 [본문으로]
75. mandate ; 1. ~ (to do sth) | ~ (for sth) (선거에 의해 국민들로부터 정부나 다른 조직에게 주어지는) 권한 [본문으로]
76. set out ; 2. (일·과제 등에) 착수하다[나서다] [본문으로]
77. press ahead[on] with ; (~를 가지고, 근거로 단호하게) 밀고 나가다; 서둘러 나아가다 [본문으로]
78. feasible ; [형용사] 실현 가능한 [본문으로]
79. resurrect ; [vn] 1. (사상・관례 등을) 부활시키다 [본문으로]
80. fatuous ; [형용사] (격식) 어리석은, 얼빠진 [본문으로]
81. regardless ; [부사] 개의치[상관하지] 않고 [본문으로]
82. masochistic ; (의학) 메조키즘의, 피학대음란증(被虐待淫亂症)의 ;; US·UK [mæ̀zǝkístik] [본문으로]
83. put sth to sb ; ~에게 ~을 제출[제안]하다 [본문으로]
84. reverse ; 2. CHANGE TO OPPOSITE | [타동사][VN] (결정 등을) 뒤집다 [본문으로]
85. rethink ; [동사] re・thought , re・thought / -'TOːt / (특히 계획・행동 방침 등을 변경하기 위해) 다시 생각하다[재고하다] [본문으로]
86. come of ~; ~의 결과이다 [본문으로]
87. reel from shock ; 충격을 받아 휘청거리다 [본문으로]
88. rumble ; 2. [자동사][V + adv. / prep.] (느리고 무겁게) 우르릉[덜커덩]거리며 나아가다 [본문으로]
89. revolt ; [C , U] 반란, 봉기, 저항 [본문으로]
90. grip ; 2. CONTROL/POWER | [sing.] ~ (on sb/sth) 통제, 지배 [본문으로]
91. strengthen ; [동사] 강화되다, 강력해지다; 강화하다, 더 튼튼하게 하다 [본문으로]
92. busted flush ; Something/someone which ends up worthless despite great potential. [본문으로]
93. Lib Dem ; [약어] 영국 정치에서 자유민주당(Liberal Democrat) [본문으로]
94. rise from the ashes ; 재생하다, 부활하다, 잿더미에서 다시 일어나다, 부흥하다. [본문으로]
95. backing ; 1. [U] 지원 [본문으로]
96. lend ; 4. ~ sth (to sb/sth) | ~ (sb/sth) sth (도움・지지 등을) 주다[제공하다] [본문으로]
97. radical center ; The terms radical centrism, radical center (or radical centre), and radical middle refer to a political philosophy that arose in the Western nations, predominantly the United States and the United Kingdom, in the late 20th century. At first it was defined in a variety of ways, but at the beginning of the 21st century a number of texts and think tanks gave the philosophy a more developed cast. The "radical" in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical centrists to call for fundamental reform of institutions. The "centrism" refers to a belief that genuine solutions require realism and pragmatism, not just idealism and emotion. Thus one radical centrist text defines radical centrism as "idealism without illusions", a phrase originally from John F. Kennedy. [본문으로]
98. bent ; [주로 단수로] ~ (for sth) 소질; 취향 [본문으로]
99. factionalism ; [명사] [U] 파벌주의, 당파심; 파벌 싸움 [본문으로]
100. down payment ; [명사] (할부금의) 착수금, 계약금, 선금 [본문으로]
101. ponder ; [동사] ~ (about/on/over sth) (격식) 숙고하다, 곰곰이 생각하다 [본문으로]
102. in play ; 인플레이. 구기 경기 따위에서, 경기가 진행 중인 상태. [본문으로]