加拿大总理特鲁多的“袜子外交”

While a female politician or first lady can use her clothing to create a favorable public image, male politicians don’t have as many fashion choices to play with. But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have discovered a goldmine – his socks.

女政治家或者第一夫人可以凭借穿着打扮塑造良好的公众形象，然而男性政治家们却没有多少时尚选择可供考虑。不过，加拿大总理贾斯廷·特鲁多却似乎发现了一座“金矿”—— 他的袜子。

He’s been seen wearing “statement socks” at many public events. For example, during a NATO meeting in Brussels in May, Trudeau wore one blue sock and one pink, both with the NATO symbol printed on them. And in June, he wore a pair of socks with the pattern of maple leaves – a national symbol of Canada – when he appeared on a TV show.

他在众多的公众场合中都被发现穿着“显眼的花袜子”。比如，在今年5月于布鲁塞尔举行的一场北约首脑会议上，特鲁多穿了一只蓝袜子和一只粉袜子，上面都印有北约的标志。而在今年6月，他穿着一双印有枫叶图案的袜子 —— 枫叶是加拿大的国家象征 —— 登上了一档电视节目。

The New York Times’ editor Vanessa Friedman praised Trudeau’s play on his socks as “clever”.

《纽约时报》编辑凡妮莎· 弗里德曼称赞特鲁多对袜子的选择十分“聪明”。

“[Socks] are subtle enough not to be distracting, but visible enough that you can’t miss the point,” she wrote. “Rarely have a man’s ankles said so much.”

“(袜子)足够微妙，不至于分散人们的注意力，但又切实可见，让人无法忽视，”她写道。“男性的脚踝上很少有这么大的信息量。”

But not all the playful socks that Trudeau wears send some kind of political message – some of them are just for fun.

但特鲁多所穿的花袜子并非都传递了某种政治信息 —— 有些袜子只是为了好玩。

One example is a pair he wore during a meeting with Enda Kenny, then the prime minister of Ireland, in Montreal on May 4. During their meeting, Trudeau wore Star Wars socks – simply because that day happened to be International Star Wars Day. If this pair of socks sent out any message, according to Vogue magazine reporter Emily Farra, that message was “just that he has a quirky side and loves George Lucas films,” she wrote.

今年5月4日，他在蒙特利尔会见时任爱尔兰总理恩达·肯尼时所穿的那双袜子就是个例子。两人在会面时，特鲁多穿了双“星战”袜 —— 就是因为那天刚好是“国际星球大战日”。《Vogue》杂志记者艾米莉·法拉认为，这双袜子如果有任何含义的话，那就是“他有着古怪的一面，喜欢乔治·卢卡斯的电影，”她写道。

However, some say that 45-year-old Trudeau’s unusual sock choices show a childish side of the prime minister that proves he isn’t mature enough to be the leader of a country.

然而，一些人认为，特鲁多都45岁了还选择穿这些与众不同的袜子，体现了这位总理孩子气的一面，也证明了他不够成熟，无法胜任一国之领袖。

But Friedman doesn’t see it that way. “The socks have been a source of pride and applause on an international scale – a symbol both of Mr Trudeau’s ability to embrace multiculturalism and of his position as a next-generation leader not bound by old traditions,” she wrote. “[They have] opened up possibilities for the future.”

但弗里德曼并不那么认为。“这些袜子在国际范围内获得了尊敬和掌声 —— 标志着特鲁多先生拥抱多元文化的能力，以及作为新一代领导人不为陈规所缚的姿态， ”她写道。“(它们)为未来创造了可能性。”