法拉奇：政治精英的“克星”
“政治精英”的克星、疑欧派人士奈杰尔•法拉奇(Nigel Farage)用一张今年最有影响力、也最具讽刺意味的照片，为不寻常的2016年画上了句号。在这张照片上，他笑着站在赢得了美国大选的唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)旁边，身后是这位当选总统纽约住宅的金色大门。
Everything about the former UK Independence party leader is improbable: the man who led the Brexit revolt that shook the British establishment is a pinstriped former City trader who has spent much of his adult life trying (and failing) to get elected to parliament.
关于这位英国前独立党(UKIP)领导人的一切都令人难以置信：这位领导了英国退欧运动、震动英国建制派的男人，是一个穿着细条纹西服的前伦敦金融城交易员，他把成年后的大量时间都用于竞选英国议员，但未获成功。
Yet Mr Farage will be remembered as a truly important historical figure. He took Ukip, a ragtag party once described by David Cameron, the former prime minister, as being full of “fruitcakes and loonies”, and turned it into a real political movement.
然而，法拉奇将被铭记为真正重要的历史人物。他接手了英国独立党，并将这个一度被前首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)描述为尽是“怪物和疯子”的下等政党，改造为真正的政治运动团体。
Mr Cameron only offered the year’s EU referendum because Mr Farage was breathing down his neck. The Ukip leader then laid the ground for the Brexit victory by ruthlessly putting immigration at the top of the campaign agenda.
卡梅伦当初完全是因为法拉奇步步紧逼，才同意让英国在今年举行退欧公投。法拉奇随后通过毫不留情地将移民问题置于退欧运动议程之首，为退欧运动的成功奠定了基础。
Mr Farage became the face of a populist movement sweeping Europe before he was co-opted by Mr Trump, who told cheering rallies that he would “do a Brexit” and seize the keys to the White House.
在得到特朗普欣赏之前，法拉奇已经是一场横扫欧洲的民粹主义运动的代言人。特朗普曾告诉欢呼的人群，他将“来一场英国退欧运动”，并拿走白宫的钥匙。
Leading Britain out of the EU already qualifies Mr Farage as a politician of huge significance. If Brexit leads to the unravelling of the EU project, historians will regard him as the catalyst and his role in the events of 2016 as a defining moment.
领导英国退出欧盟已经让法拉奇有资格被称为举足轻重的政客。如果英国退欧导致欧盟项目瓦解，历史学家们会将他视为促成这一过程的人，并将他在2016年各项事件中扮演的角色视为一个决定性时刻。
The writer is the FT’s political editor
本文作者是英国《金融时报》政治编辑
