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タイ在住11年目、妻はタイ人、娘が2人、養女が2人

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Outsider candidates dominate U.S. presidential race amid public distrust
米大統領選　政治不信が招く非主流派躍進

Candidates outside the mainstream who are rebelling against the establishment have been gaining ground in the race for the Democratic and Republican nominations for president of the United States. The final election will be held in November.
　１１月の米大統領選に向けた民主党と共和党の指名候補争いで、既存支配層（エスタブリッシュメント）に反旗を翻す非主流派が躍進している。

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a strongly left-wing, self-described “democratic socialist,” won the Democratic Party’s primary in New Hampshire over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This marked a difficult start for Clinton, the favored candidate for the party’s nomination, despite her narrow win in the Iowa caucuses.
　民主党では、「民主社会主義者」を名乗る最左派のバーニー・サンダース上院議員がニューハンプシャー州予備選を制した。「本命候補」のクリントン前国務長官は、初戦のアイオワ州党員集会で辛勝したが、厳しい滑り出しだ。

Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who has no prior political career, emerged victorious in the Republican Party’s primary in New Hampshire. In Iowa, Trump placed second behind Ted Cruz, a nonmainstream conservative hard-liner.
　共和党は、政治経験のない不動産王ドナルド・トランプ氏がニューハンプシャーを押さえた。アイオワでも、非主流の保守強硬派、テッド・クルーズ上院議員が勝利し、トランプ氏が２位だった。

Indecisive politics continue due to partisan confrontation in Washington. The decline of American influence in the international community is evident. The emergence of these nonmainstream candidates, it may be said, reflects the people’s distrust of and discontent with such developments.
　ワシントンでは、党派対立で「決められない政治」が続く。国際社会での米国の影響力低下も目立つ。これらに対する国民の不信と不満が表れた結果と言える。

If candidates prevail in early-stage primaries that draw significant media attention, they will be able to gather more campaign funds and support due to the psychological effect of jumping on the bandwagon. The whirlwind set off by the candidates who are standing outside the center of politics will not cease for some time.
　メディアの注目を集める序盤戦で優位に立てば、勝ち馬に乗る心理効果で、選挙資金や支持をさらに呼び込める。政治の中心から離れたアウトサイダーの旋風は当面、収まらないだろう。

Conservatives and liberals have become further polarized under the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. No national consensus can be found regarding the reform of the medical insurance system, the strengthening of gun control and the process for accepting immigrants.
　オバマ民主党政権下で、米社会は保守とリベラルの両極化が進んだ。医療保険制度改革や銃規制強化、移民受け入れ策について、国民的合意を見いだせずにいる。

National consensus illusive

The standard of living for middle- and low-income earners has not improved as their job opportunities decreased due to the transfer of factories to China and other countries, as well as the inflow of immigrants. A sense of unfairness toward the rich has spread among the people.
　中国などへの工場移転や移民流入で、中低所得層の雇用が減り、生活水準は上がらない。富裕層に対する不公平感が広がる。

Of concern is the emergence of a populism that serves to incite amid such a deadlock.
　懸念されるのは、こうした閉塞状況を背景に扇動的なポピュリズムが台頭することである。

Trump has called for “making America great again” and openly expressed his hostile feelings toward China and Mexico, among other countries. He has even gone so far as to argue for forcible deportation of illegal immigrants and an entry ban on Muslims. Trump is also opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework and is calling for huge tax cuts.
　「偉大な米国の復活」を唱えるトランプ氏は中国やメキシコなどへの敵対心をむき出しにし、不法移民の強制送還やイスラム教徒の入国拒否まで主張している。環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）にも反対し、大規模減税を訴える。

Sanders, a champion of “antiestablishment” policies whose signature campaign promise is the correction of economic inequality, has obtained overwhelming support from the young and other voters by proposing to make tuition free at public universities, and dissolve major financial institutions.
　「反エスタブリッシュメント」と格差是正を看板とするサンダース氏は、公立大学の無償化や大手金融機関の解体を掲げ、若者らの圧倒的支持を得ている。

But the campaign promises of Trump and Sanders are nothing but extreme arguments with little chance of being realized.
　だが、２人の公約は実現性に乏しい極論に過ぎない。

It is hard to understand why Clinton, who had pushed for the TPP pact as a member of the Obama administration, has changed tack to oppose it. Even if it is a temporary strategy for the campaign, we are left with the undeniable impression that she has been drawn into a swirl of populism.
　オバマ政権の一員としてＴＰＰを推進したクリントン氏が、反対姿勢に転じたのも理解に苦しむ。暫定的な選挙向け戦術だとしても、ポピュリズムのうねりに巻き込まれている印象は否めない。

If the candidates only deny the existing political and economic systems and compete to make radical and inward-looking arguments, neither national reconciliation nor the recovery of America’s credibility can be realized. We want to see constructive debate that will contribute to repairing social rifts.
　既存の政治や経済の仕組みを否定し、急進的で内向きの主張を競い合っているだけでは、国民融和も、米国の威信回復も実現できまい。社会の亀裂の修復につながる建設的な論戦を求めたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 12, 2016)