Un nouveau leader pour l'Inde, à surveiller !

28 Mai 2014 , Rédigé par Laurence B Publié dans #Politique

India’s strongman

Narendra Modi’s amazing victory gives India its best chance ever of prosperity

THE most important change in the world over the past 30 years* has been the rise* of China. The increase* in its average* annual GDP* per head* from around $300 to $6,750 over the period has not just brought* previously* unimagined prosperity to hundreds of millions of people, but has also remade the world economy and geopolitics.
Over the past 30 years = ces 30 dernières années
The rise of = l’ascension
The increase = l’augmentation
Average = moyen, en moyenne
GDP = gross domestic product = produit intérieur brut
Per head = par personne
Brought (to bring – I brought – brought) = apporter
Previously = auparavant, plus tôt

India’s GDP per head was the same as China’s three decades ago*. It is now less than* a quarter of the size. Despite* a couple of bouts* of reform and spurts of* growth*, India’s economy has never achieved* the momentum* that has dragged* much of East Asia out of poverty. The human cost, in terms of frustrated, underemployed*, ill-educated*, unhealthy, hungry people, has been immense.
Three decades ago = il y a 30 ans
Less than = moins de
Despite = malgré
Bouts of = des périodes
Spurt of = sursaut, regain de
Growth = croissance
To achieve = réussir, parvenir à, accomplir, réaliser
The momentum = le dynamisme
To drag = sortir, (trainer)
Underemployed = sous-exploité
Ill-educated = sans education
Unhealthy = en mauvaise santé

Now, for the first time ever*, India has a strong government whose priority is growth. Narendra Modi, who leads* the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won* a tremendous* victory on the strength* of promising to make India’s economy work. Although we did not endorse* him, because we believe that he has not atoned* sufficiently for the massacre of Muslims that took place in Gujarat while* he was chief minister, we wish* him every success: an Indian growth miracle would be a great thing not just for Indians, but also for the world.
For the first time ever = pour la toute première fois
To lead = mener, être à la tête
To win – I won – won = gagner
Tremendous = considérable, extraordinaire
Strength = force, puissance
To endorse = approuver, appuyer
To atone for = expier, racheter, réparer
While = alors que
To wish = souhaiter

From lackey* to leader
Government is at the heart of India’s failure*. The few* strong* governments India has had—always dominated by the Congress party, a Nehru-Gandhi family fief—have had rotten* economic agendas. Reformist politicians—like the outgoing* prime minister*, Manmohan Singh—have lacked* the clout* to implement* their policies.

a lackey = un laquais, un larbin

Failure = un échec
The few = les quelques
Strong = fort, puissant
Rotten = véreux, corrompu, pourri
Outgoing = sortant
Prime minister (PM) = premier ministre
To lack = manquer, faire défaut
Clout = influence, poids
To implement = mettre en œuvre, exécuter, accomplir

That is partly because India is an extraordinarily hard place to govern. Much power is devolved* to the states; the fissiparous* nature of its polity* means that deals have constantly to be done with a vast array of* regional and caste-based parties; and a colonial and socialist past has bequeathed* India a bureaucracy whose direction is hard to change.
To devolve = incomber, être transmis, échoir
Fissiparous = qui se reproduit en se divisant
Polity = administration politique
An array of = une batterie, une série
To bequeath = léguer, transmettre

Mr Singh, who was not much more than a Gandhi family retainer*, had little chance of doing so. Mr Modi, by contrast, has huge authority, both within* his party and in the country. The BJP’s victory owes* something to good organisation but most to its leader’s appeal*. Not since* Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 has India had such a powerful personality in charge*.
A retainer = un serviteur
Within = à l’intérieur de
To owe = devoir
Appeal = attrait, charme
Not since = pas depuis
In charge = au pouvoir

Mr Modi has an outright* majority—282 of the 543 elected seats* in Parliament’s lower house. Only Congress has ever won a majority by itself before, and it has not had one for 30 years. The combination of parliamentary clout and personal power means that Mr Modi has a better chance of getting state governments to go along with* him than Mr Singh did. Congress, meanwhile*, has been routed*, retaining* just 44 seats. The joke* goes that until last week India had no government; now it has no opposition.
Outright = franc(he), complet, total
Seat = siège
The lower house = la chambre basse
To go along with = être d’accord avec
Meanwhile = pendant ce temps
Routed = expédié, acheminé
To retain = maintenir, conserver
A joke = plaisanterie
“until last week India had no government; now it has no opposition” = jusqu’à la semaine dernière l’Inde n’avait pas de gouvernement; maintenant elle n’a pas d’opposition(!!!)

Compare Indian state electorate and voter numbers to entire nations with our interactive map

Mr Modi has a mandate for economic reform. Although his core* supporters are religious nationalists, steeped* in the glories of a Hindu past, it was the votes of the young, urban and educated that won him the election. They were turned off* by Congress’s drift* and venality, and its preference for welfare* handouts* over fostering* opportunity. They want the chance of self-advancement that Mr Modi, a tea-seller’s* son, both represents and promises.
His first task* is to stabilise a fragile economy. He must clean out the banks (bad loans* are preventing* a recovery*), sort out the government’s own finances (chronic deficits are at the root of* India’s inflation), cut subsidies*, widen* the tax base* and allow* the central bank to pursue a tougher* anti-inflation policy.
Core = principal
Steeped = trempé, macéré, mariné
To turn off = quitter, tourner
Drift = dérive
Welfare = aide sociale, bien-être
Handouts = assistanat
To foster = favoriser, encourager
Opportunity = occasion, chance, perspective d’avenir
A tea-seller = un vendeur de thé
A task = tâche, devoir
A loan = un emprunt
To prevent = empêcher
A recovery = reprise, redressement
At the root of = à la racine de
Subsidy = une subvention
To widen = élargir
Tax base = assiette de l’impôt
To allow = permettre
Tough = sévère

His second task is to create jobs. Labour laws are rigid, land for factories* often impossible to acquire at any price, and electricity patchy*. Mr Modi must launch* sweeping* land reforms*, crack heads in the misfiring* coal* and electricity industries and make India more of a single market* not just by improving* roads, ports and the like, but also by cutting the red tape* that Balkanises the economy. A national sales tax* would help here, replacing myriad local levies*. Such relatively straightforward* steps could make a powerful difference, raising* the Indian growth rate* by two or even three percentage points from its current 4-5%.
A factory = une usine
Patchy = inégal, incomplet
To launch = lancer
Sweeping = radical, considérable
Land reform = réforme agraire
To misfire = rater
Coal = le charbon
Single market = marché unique
To improve = améliorer
The red tape = la paperasserie, la bureaucratie
Sales tax = taxe à l’achat
Local levy = impôt local
Straightforward = simple
To raise = élever
The growth rate = le taux de croissance

Reaching out to Pakistan would bring economic as well as security benefits*. Trade* between Pakistan and India is currently* negligible*, and there is huge scope* for growth. As a leader from the nationalist right, Mr Modi is well-placed to bring about a rapprochement, rather as* Menachem Begin could make peace between Israel and Egypt. The initial signs are good: Mr Modi has invited Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, to his inauguration.
benefits = avantages, bienfait
trade = commerce, échanges commerciaux
currently = actuellement
negligible = insignifiant
a scope = possibilité, ampleur
rather as = plutôt comme

One rule for all
There are three main dangers. One is that Mr Modi turns out to be* more of a Hindu nationalist than an economic reformer. He has spoken of “bringing everyone along”. But while he has already worshipped* at the Ganges since his victory, promising to clean up the river sacred to Hindus, he has not brought himself to mention Muslims*, who make up 15% of the population.
Turns out to be = s’avère être
To worship = vouer un culte à, adorer
Muslims = les Musulmans

A second danger is that he is defeated* by the country’s complexity. His efforts at reform, like all previous* reformers’ efforts, may be overwhelmed* by a combination of politics, bureaucracy and corruption. If that happens, India will be condemned to another generation or two of underachievement*.
Defeated = vaincu, perdant
Previous = précédent
Overwhelmed = submergé
Underachievement = résultats décevants

A third is that Mr Modi’s strength* will go to his head*, and he will rule as an autocrat, not a democrat—as Indira Gandhi did for a while*. There are grounds for concern*. After years of drift* under Congress, some of the country’s institutions have rotted*. The main police investigator is politically directed, the media can be bought, the central bank, which does not have statutory independence, has been bullied* before, and Mr Modi has authoritarian tendencies.
Strength = force, puissance
Will go to his head = va lui monter à la tête
For a while = pendant un moment
Grounds for concern = des motifs d’inquiétude
Drift = dérive
To rot = pourrir, corrompre
To bully = molester, malmener, tyranniser

The risks are there, but this is a time for optimism. With a strong government committed to* growth and a population hungry for it, India has its best chance of making a break for prosperity since independence.
To commit to = s’engager à

From the print edition: Leaders

The Economist