VOA双语新闻：意选民对欧洲议会选举反应冷淡

　　Voters across Europe are casting their ballots 1 in European elections, expected to see a record low voter turnout and gains for far-right and far-left parties. In Italy, scandal hit Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the only leader of a large EU member state to stand as head of an electoral list.

欧洲各国选民正在投票选举欧洲议会议员。预计前往投票站的选民人数将创下历史新低。此外，极右和极左翼政党将会获得更多席位。丑闻缠身的意大利总理贝卢斯科尼是较大欧盟成员国中唯一参选的领导人。

Voter apathy 2 is expected to characterize the election to select new representatives for the European Union's parliament. Italy is representative of this situation. Voting resumed across the country Sunday following a slow first day.

选民对选举新的欧洲议会一直漠不关心，意大利在这方面颇具代表性。星期六是选举的第一天，人们反应冷淡。星期天，意大利各地的投票站继续开门。

Just more than 17 percent of eligible 3 voters cast their ballots on Saturday, but polling stations will remain open until 10 pm. With European Union issues taking a backseat in the election campaign, the vote in Italy is widely viewed as a test of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's popularity.

星期六，只有百分之17以上的意大利合格选民投了票，不过投票站直到晚上10点才会关门。欧盟议题在竞选中不占主要位置， 意大利现在举行的投票被广泛视为是对总理贝卢斯科尼有多少民意支持的考验。

The Italian-government leader has been caught up in a scandal, involving his friendship with an 18-year-old woman. Mr. Berlusconi's private life has come under intense scrutiny 4 in the past few weeks with the publication in a Spanish newspaper of a photo of topless women at his seaside villa 5 in Sardinia.

这位意大利政府领导人最近由于跟一名18岁女孩子的关系而闹得丑闻缠身。西班牙一家报纸几周前刊登了一幅涉及贝卢斯科尼私生活的照片。照片上一名没有穿上衣的女性出现在贝卢斯科尼在撒丁岛的海边别墅。此后这位意大利总理的私生活倍受人们关注。

The prime minister has condemned 6 it as an invasion of privacy and his lawyer has said he would take legal action against the newspaper. Mr. Berlusconi is hoping for a strong victory in the elections that will show that the scandal is not affecting him politically.

贝卢斯科尼谴责这是侵犯隐私，并且他的律师也说将对报纸采取法律行动。贝卢斯科尼希望藉由在选举中大胜，将能显示丑闻对他没有政治影响。

A major issue dominating this vote is also the government's stance on immigration. Mr. Berlusconi recently said that when he walks the streets of Milan, he sees so many non-Italians he feels he is no longer in an Italian or European city, but in an African one.

另一项左右投票的主要议题是政府在移民上的立场。贝卢斯科尼最近说，当他走在米兰的街道上，他看到的非意大利人多到让他感到他不再身处一个意大利或欧洲的城市，而是在一个非洲城市。

The results of the vote are expected to signal whether the anti-immigration Northern League, the junior partner in Mr. Berlusconi's conservative coalition 7, can emulate 8 the success of similar parties elsewhere in Europe.

预计投票结果将显示，反移民的北方联盟这个贝卢斯科尼保守联合政府的规模较小的伙伴，是否能够像欧洲其他地方类似政党那样取得成功。

Italians are electing 72 European Union MPs. Voters are also casting ballots to elect thousands of municipal candidates, including the mayors of some major cities. This man is voting in earthquake stricken l'Aquila.

意大利将选出72名欧洲议会议员。选民们同时也将投票选出几千位市政候选人，包括某些主要城市的市长。这位选民在不久前曾经历一次地震的拉奎拉市投票。

He says that for the first time he is voting in a tent and he hopes it will be the last.

他说，这是他第一次在帐棚里投票，而他希望这会是最后一次。

Turnout in the area is also much lower, with 60,000 people still living in tents and overcrowded hotels on the Adriatic coast, following a devastating 9 quake two months ago.

该地区的投票出席率也低很多，因为2个月前发生一场毁灭性的地震之后，有6万人现在仍住在亚得里亚海岸边的帐棚以及过度拥挤的旅馆当中。