There is little that is joyful about the Conservatives’ 2017 election manifesto. The dark blue document, containing one photograph, does not paint a country happy and at ease with itself. Instead, it puts forward a downbeat vision of a divided nation that suffers from too much immigration, big businesses running rampant, executive pay out of control and some grave challenges in the years ahead. Just as Margaret Thatcher did in her slender but radical manifesto in 1979, Forward Together is an attempt to shine some light through the trees.
保守黨2017年競選宣言幾乎毫無喜氣。這份包含一張照片的深藍色文件，描繪的不是一個幸福、自在的國家。相反，這份文件描繪了一幅悲觀的前景：一個分裂的國家，面對著太多移民、大企業為所欲為和高管薪酬失控的問題，在未來數年還面臨一些嚴峻的挑戰。正如瑪格麗特?撒切爾(Margaret Thatcher)在她1979年那份簡練但激進的競選宣言中所做的，《一起向前》(Forward Together)嘗試撥開樹枝播撒一些陽光。