It’s a shame Nigel Farage ducked(躲避，回避) the announcement of his victory in the Clacton byelection, which confirmed his return as MP for the seat he had needlessly resigned from just a few weeks earlier. You’d have thought he would have loved it. It was the culmination(顶点，高潮) of a stunt, an exercise in politics as performance. It was a display animated by – and seeking to inflame – grievance, a million miles away from the hard, grinding work of tackling the problems that underlie those grievances.(这场表演由不满驱动并试图煽动不满，与解决根本问题的艰苦工作相去甚远。) It was an attempt to deflect(转移，使转向) scrutiny(仔细审查，监督), distract attention and evade responsibility. It was, in other words, everything nationalist populists like him excel at(擅长于). Indeed, the only thing.
很遗憾，奈杰尔·法拉奇回避了他在克拉克顿补选中获胜的宣布，这次补选确认了他重返议会，成为他几周前不必要辞去的那个席位的议员。你可能会以为他会喜欢这个时刻。这是一场噱头的高潮，一种将政治当作表演的操练。这场表演由不满情绪驱动，并试图煽动这种情绪，与解决这些不满背后问题的艰苦卓绝的工作相去甚远。它试图转移审查、分散注意力、逃避责任。换句话说，这正是像他这样的民族主义民粹主义者所擅长的一切。事实上，是他们唯一擅长的事。
Reform UK said Farage stayed away(缺席，不露面) because Essex police had warned of a “credible(可信的，可靠的) threat” to his security, a claim swiftly denied by Essex police. (Add a flexible approach to the truth(对真相的灵活态度（委婉指撒谎）) to that list of nationalist populists’ talents.) Still, it was a slightly odd claim to make. Recall Farage’s favoured explanation – there are others – for the undeclared £5m gift he received from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which prompted the very parliamentary investigation that so riled the Reform leader he felt compelled to quit his seat and seek a preemptive not guilty verdict from the people of Clacton: namely, that he needed the money to pay for private, enhanced security.(回想法拉奇对那笔未申报礼物的偏爱解释：他需要钱来支付私人安保。) It seems £5m was not quite enough to ensure the lucky recipient would be safe standing next to a man dressed as a bin.
英国改革党称，法拉奇之所以缺席，是因为埃塞克斯警方警告他面临“可信的威胁”，但这一说法很快被埃塞克斯警方否认。（在民族主义民粹主义者的才能清单上，再加上一条对真相的灵活态度。）不过，这个说法还是有点奇怪。回想一下法拉奇对那笔未申报的500万英镑礼物的偏爱解释——还有其他解释——这笔钱来自泰国加密货币亿万富翁克里斯托弗·哈伯恩，正是它引发了议会调查，而这项调查激怒了这位改革党领袖，使他觉得必须辞去席位，向克拉克顿人民寻求先发制人的无罪判决：也就是说，他需要这笔钱来支付私人加强安保。看来500万英镑还不足以确保这位幸运的受赠者站在一个打扮成垃圾桶的人旁边时是安全的。
Unless, maybe, security was not the whole story(全部真相，所有原因). Farage also said he skipped(跳过，略过) the count because he didn’t want to be “demeaned(贬低，使丢脸) and humiliated(羞辱，使蒙羞) by nobodies”. Quite right. If Nigel Farage is to be demeaned and humiliated, it should be by people of standing(有身份地位的人). As it happens(碰巧，恰好), he may get his wish. Now that he’s an MP again, the probe(调查，探究) into the multiple financial questions that surround him, including over the undeclared support he received from the convicted fraudster George Cottrell, has resumed. A finding against him could necessitate(使成为必要) yet another byelection, except this time the major parties will not repeat their boycott and he will have to do battle with opponents even more formidable(强大的，难对付的) than an aristocratic trash can.
除非，也许，安全并不是全部原因。法拉奇还说，他跳过计票环节是因为不想被“无名小卒羞辱”。说得对。如果奈杰尔·法拉奇要被羞辱，那也应该由有身份的人来做。碰巧的是，他可能会如愿以偿。既然他再次成为议员，针对他的多项财务问题的调查已经恢复，其中包括他从已定罪的诈骗犯乔治·科特雷尔那里获得的未申报支持。如果调查结果对他不利，可能又会导致一场补选，只不过这次主要政党不会重复他们的抵制，他将不得不与比贵族垃圾桶更难对付的对手作战。