該篇文章介紹的是即將成爲以色列任期最長總理的本雅明·內塔尼亞胡的故事，他究竟有哪些功績，又有哪些遭人詬病之處呢？且看本文如何評說。

本期翻譯：Peter

本文爲part 1, part 2 且看下次推送，音頻下次一起發送。

King Bibi: a parable of modern populism

Bibi國王：一個當代民粹主義的寓言故事

In Israel, as elsewhere, politics is a perplexing mix of sound policy and the cynical erosion of institutions.

在以色列以及別處，政治是良好政策和見利忘義侵害組織的混合體。

His devotees call him “The Magician”, “The Winner” and— the ultimate accolade—melekh yisrael, “King of Israel”. Binyamin Netanyahu is Israel’s most gifted politician in a generation. He is his country’s second-longest-serving prime minister and, if he wins his fifth election on April 9th, may beat the record of the country’s founding father, David Ben Gurion.

他的信徒稱他爲魔術師、勝利者以及最高的稱讚Melekh Yisrael---以色列的王。本雅明·內塔尼亞胡是這代中最有才華的政治家，他是這個國家擔任首相時間排名第二的人。假如他贏得了4月9日的第五次大選，他的任期將打破以色列的國國父，戴維•本-古裏安。

“Bibi”, as he is known by all, is important beyond Israel, too, and not only because he speaks in perfect soundbites in both Hebrew and English and stands tall in today’s chaotic Middle East. He matters because he embodied the politics of muscular nationalism, chauvinism and the resentment of elites long before such populism became a global force. Mr Netanyahu counts among his friends and allies such nationalists as Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, not to mention European ones from Viktor Orban in Hungary to Matteo Salvini in Italy.

Bibi,這個暱稱被衆人所熟知，而且他的影響也超越了以色列。不僅僅是因爲他能夠完美地掌握英語或者希伯來語，並且在當今混亂的中東頗有威嚴與影響力。他的影響力是因爲民粹主義在全球擡頭之前，他已早早地在政治中體現出了強硬的民族主義、沙文主義和憎恨精英思想。內塔尼亞胡依靠唐納德·特朗普、納倫德拉·莫迪這樣的民族主義者成爲朋友並結盟，匈牙利的歐爾班·維克多到意大利的馬泰奧·薩爾維尼自然也在名單之中。

The reign of King Bibi is thus a parable of modern politics: the rise of a talented politician and a long success based on a perplexing mixture of carrying out sound policy and cynically sowing division. As his power is threatened, he has turned to railing more loudly against the free press, the judiciary and shadowy forces. Now Bibi faces his greatest danger, in the form of criminal charges for corruption.

因此國王Bibi的統治就是當代政治中的一個寓言故事：他執行明智的政策，冷笑着播下分裂的種子，基於以上令人困惑的組合，一個才華橫溢的政治家崛起並長期取得成功。當他的權力受到威脅的時候，他開始更大聲地批評自由媒體、司法制度和鮮爲人知的勢力。現在，Bibi面臨着更大的危險---他以貪污腐敗的罪名被起訴。

In a different age he would have had to resign, and would now be defending himself as an ordinary citizen. But he is intent on remaining in office, and hopes that voters will yet save him from the policemen, prosecutors and judges. Israeli politics is turning into a contest between genuine achievement and demagoguery on one side and the rule of law on the other. All who care about democracy should watch closely.

在一個不同的時代，他本不得不辭職，可能以一名普通民衆的身份爲自己辯護。但是他決心要繼續留任總統，寄希望於他的支持者們能擋住警察、檢察官和法官。以色列的政治正在變成一場競爭，一方面是真正的功績和煽動民衆，另一方面則是法治。所有關心民主的人都應該密切地關注着以色列。

Little Israel commands attention because it has a big history: biblical romance and technological talent; the slaughter of the Holocaust and military prowess; energetic democracy and the long occupation of land claimed and inhabited by Palestinians. That said, Mr Netanyahu is a big figure in his own right (see Briefing). He is more intelligent and capable than many populists, and can claim plenty of successes. By shrinking the bloated state, he has helped Israel’s economy flourish, particularly its tech startups. With deft use of diplomacy and the mostly cautious use of military force, he has boosted security without being sucked into disastrous wars. Thanks to that and a shared hostility to Iran, relations with many Arab rulers are better than at any time in Israel’s history.

小小的以色列吸引着如此多的關注是因爲它有着輝煌的歷史：聖經的浪漫與科技的才華；種族屠殺和軍事力量；充滿活力的民主但卻被巴勒斯坦人長期佔領和居住的土地。內塔尼亞胡先生憑藉着自己的努力成爲一個大人物。他比很多民粹主義者更聰明和有能力，聲稱可以獲得很多的勝利。通過壓縮臃腫的經濟，他幫助以色列經濟實現了繁榮，尤其是科技企業的創立。通過靈巧地使用外交手段，謹慎地運用軍事力量，他已經提升了國家的安全，避免國家陷入到殘酷的戰爭中去。幸虧有這些因素和一個共同的敵人伊朗，以色列和阿拉伯世界的統治者的關係比歷史上任何時期都好。

Yet Mr. Netanyahu is also worryingly dogmatic. He has paid lip service to peace with Palestinians but has taken no meaningful steps towards it. He has denounced any Western co-operation with Iran, even if it served to limit Iran’s nuclear programme. In Bibi’s pessimistic view, Israel is surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing and wolves in wolves’ clothing. Israel can only manage conflicts, not solve them, he believes, so it must rely on an iron wall and the passage of time.

但是內塔尼亞胡先生的武斷也令人擔憂。他對巴勒斯坦人的和平要求開了一些空頭支票，卻沒有采取有意義的行動。他不承認西方和伊朗的任何合作，即使這些合作是爲了限制伊朗的核計劃。在Bibi悲觀地看來，以色列被一羣披着羊皮的狼和一羣披着狼皮的狼所包圍。他相信以色列只能應對衝突，但卻不能解決它們，所以它只能依靠鐵牆和時間地流逝。