When I was young, in the 1960s, the UK was known as the “sick man of Europe”, for its prolonged economic weakness. But after Margaret Thatcher’s time as prime minister, this grim epithet no longer seemed applicable. Yet now, once again, as I go abroad — and especially in continental Europe — people ask me, with a mixture of bewilderment, pity and Schadenfreude, “What is wrong with Britain?” I do not pretend to know the answer (or answers). But I can describe the symptoms: the UK is undergoing six crises at the same time.
上世纪60年代,在我还年轻的时候,英国曾因长期manbetx20客户端下载 萎靡而被称为“欧洲病夫”。但在玛格丽特•撒切尔(Margaret Thatcher)担任首相之后,英国似乎甩掉了这个令人讨厌的称号。但如今,当我到国外(尤其是欧洲大陆)时,人们再一次带着困惑、怜悯和幸灾乐祸的口吻问我:“英国到底怎么了?”我不想假装自己知道答案。但我可以描述一下病状:英国正在同时经历六重危机。