默克尔将寻求第四个德国总理任期

Angela Merkel has decided to seek a fourth term as German chancellor, less than two weeks after Donald Trump’s election in the US left her as the west’s pre-eminent defender of liberal values.

安格拉.默克尔(Angela Merkel)决定寻求第四个德国总理任期，不到两周前，唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)当选美国总统，使她成为西方的头号自由派价值观捍卫者。

The announcement to stand again came days after meetings with world leaders that underscored Ms Merkel’s importance to an international order rocked by Mr Trump’s electoral victory, and the rise of populist and nationalist parties across Europe.

在她再次参选的声明发出几天前，默克尔与世界领导人的会晤突显了她对国际秩序的重要性，特朗普当选以及民粹主义和民族主义政党在欧洲各国崛起撼动了这一秩序。

She announced her decision to seek re-election last night, ending months of speculation.

她昨晚宣布了她将再次参选的决定，从而结束了长达数月的猜测。

She said that she had thought endlessly about whether to run again and described the decision as anything but trivial, not for the country, for the party and for me personally.

她表示，她一直不停思考自己是否再次参选，她称这一决定不是小事，对于我的国家、我的政党以及我自己而言都是如此。

Ms Merkel said that she wanted to serve Germany in these difficult and uncertain times.

默克尔表示，她希望在当今艰难和不确定的时期为德国服务。

She said that the election would be more difficult than any since reunification in 1990, with society more polarised than when she began her third term in 2013, and her CDU party, facing challenges from the right and left.

她表示，这场选举将比自（1990年）德国统一以来的任何选举都更艰难，社会两极分化程度比她在2013年开始第三任总理任期时更为严重，同时她所在的基民盟(CDU)面临着来自右翼和左翼的挑战。

Last week, the 62-year-old won the endorsement of Barack Obama, US president, who was in Berlin on the last leg of his final European tour for an informal summit with five EU heads of government.

上周，62岁的默克尔获得了美国总统巴拉克.奥巴马(Barack Obama)的支持，奥巴马当时在柏林，这是他任内最后一次欧洲访问的最后一站，他与5位欧盟政府首脑召开了一次非正式峰会。

The outgoing president described Ms Merkel as his closest international partner, jesting that if he were German he would vote for her.

这位即将卸任的美国总统称默克尔是他最密切的国际合作伙伴，并开玩笑说，如果他是德国人，他会投票给默克尔。

Her decision to run is likely to be met with relief in EU capitals, where she is seen as a rock of stability at a time of tectonic shifts in European politics.

默克尔参选的决定可能会让欧盟各国松一口气，在欧盟内部，她被视为欧洲政治剧变时期稳住阵脚的磐石。

In recent years EU leaders have looked to Ms Merkel and Germany to help solve the continent’s problems, ranging from the refugee crisis to the Greek bailout and Brexit.

最近几年，欧盟领导人一直依靠默克尔和德国来帮助解决欧洲的问题，从难民危机到希腊纾困和英国退欧。

Ms Merkel’s decision comes as the French yesterday went to the polls to select a centre-right candidate for next year’s election.

在默克尔宣布参选之际，法国昨日投票，将为明年总统大选选出一位中右翼候选人。

Pollsters expect the winner to face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the battle for the presidency.

民调专家预计，获胜者将在总统大选中迎战极右翼领导人马琳.勒庞(Marine Le Pen)。