特雷莎梅的脱欧又脱不成了

After two crushing defeats in Parliament for her plan for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May nonetheless had high hopes of cajoling or threatening enough recalcitrant lawmakers to win approval in a third try this week.

尽管遭遇了议会中两次脱欧计划的失败，英国首相特雷莎•梅对于哄骗或胁迫足够多的顽固不化的立法者这一点仍寄予厚望——希望利用这一点，在本周的第三次尝试中赢得支持。

On Monday, though, the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, stood in her way — again.

然而本周一，英国国会下议院发言人约翰•伯考挡了她的路——是又一次挡了她的路。

His weapon? An 1844 guide to parliamentary procedure that relies on rules dating back to 1604.

他的武器？是一套1844年的议会程序指南（规则可追溯回1604年）。

Mr. Bercow told the government that Parliament could not vote a third time on its plan for Brexit, as the departure from the European Union is known, unless the plan substantially differed from the one rejected last week.

伯考先生告知政府，议会不可就“英国退出欧盟”—即脱欧计划，举行第三次投票。除非新计划将实质上有别于上周被否决的计划。

As the speaker, Mr. Bercow, who is officially nonpartisan, determines whether or not critical votes are taken in Parliament. And he has angered the government by using this power, it says, to try to influence the Brexit process.

作为发言人，无党派的伯考先生将决定是否将关键选票纳入议会。他也因此惹恼了政府，被扣上“试图影响脱欧进程”的帽子。

After the speaker announced his decision, Robert Buckland, the solicitor general, said Britain was in “a major constitutional crisis.” He speculated that the government could have the Queen “prorogue” Parliament — which means ending the current session and starting a new one, allowing a vote on the old plan.

在发言人宣布决定后，副司法部长罗伯特•巴克兰表示，英国正处于“重大宪法危机”中。他猜测政府或将请出女王，使议会“休会”。这意味着，或将终止目前的议会，另起炉灶，从而允许对旧计划进行投票。

For now, the speaker's unexpected decision makes it unlikely that another vote can be held before Mrs. May meets European Union leaders at a summit on Thursday in Brussels.

本周四在布鲁塞尔的高层会议上，梅女士会见了欧盟领导。目前看来，发言人让人大跌眼镜的决定，使得下一次公投没法在这次会晤前举行。

She had been expected to use the occasion to request a delay to Brexit, one that she argued could be a matter of months if lawmakers had by then voted for her deal, or as long as two years if they had not.

她主张，立法者如果站在她一边，也需耗时数月；如果得不到立法者的支持，则可能长达两年。人们预计，她会利用这一理由要求延期脱欧。

Whatever Parliament does or does not do, a delay of some duration is almost certain at this point.

不管议会有无作为，现在几乎可以确定的是，一段时间的推迟是没跑的了。

翻译：everaining