加拿大總理特魯多的“襪子外交”

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憑借穿著打扮塑造良好的公眾形象，然而男性政治家們卻沒有多少時尚選擇可供考慮。不過，加拿大總理賈斯廷·特魯多卻似乎發(fā)現(xiàn)了一座“金礦”—— 他的襪子。

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.

他在眾多的公眾場合中都被發(fā)現(xiàn)穿著“顯眼的花襪子”。比如，在今年5月于布魯塞爾舉行的一場北約首腦會議上，特魯多穿了一只藍(lán)襪子和一只粉襪子，上面都印有北約的標(biāo)志。而在今年6月，他穿著一雙印有楓葉圖案的襪子 —— 楓葉是加拿大的國家象征 —— 登上了一檔電視節(jié)目。

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

《紐約時報》編輯凡妮莎· 弗里德曼稱贊特魯多對襪子的選擇十分“聰明”。

“[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.”

“(襪子)足夠微妙，不至于分散人們的注意力，但又切實可見，讓人無法忽視，”她寫道。“男性的腳踝上很少有這么大的信息量。”

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

但特魯多所穿的花襪子并非都傳遞了某種政治信息 —— 有些襪子只是為了好玩。

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，他在蒙特利爾會見時任愛爾蘭總理恩達(dá)·肯尼時所穿的那雙襪子就是個例子。兩人在會面時，特魯多穿了雙“星戰(zhàn)”襪 —— 就是因為那天剛好是“國際星球大戰(zhàn)日”?！禫ogue》雜志記者艾米莉·法拉認(rèn)為，這雙襪子如果有任何含義的話，那就是“他有著古怪的一面，喜歡喬治·盧卡斯的電影，”她寫道。

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，一些人認(rèn)為，特魯多都45歲了還選擇穿這些與眾不同的襪子，體現(xiàn)了這位總理孩子氣的一面，也證明了他不夠成熟，無法勝任一國之領(lǐng)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認(rèn)為。“這些襪子在國際范圍內(nèi)獲得了尊敬和掌聲 —— 標(biāo)志著特魯多先生擁抱多元文化的能力，以及作為新一代領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人不為陳規(guī)所縛的姿態(tài)， ”她寫道。“(它們)為未來創(chuàng)造了可能性。”