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当地时间5月11日晚，英国大选的最后一个悬念打开。13年的“工党时代”正式终结，英国保守党领袖戴维•卡梅伦作为近200年以来最年轻的英国首相入主唐宁街10号。这意味着保守党自1997年以来首次重掌政权。此前，布朗在10日曾宣布他将在9月前辞职，试图在大选后“无多数议会”的局面下为工党通过与自由民主党“联姻”以继续执政创造机会。然而这一努力失败了，自民党选择了保守党。这是自二战以来，英国第一个多党联合政府。在新的联合政府中，自民党将占有5个内阁席位，党魁克莱格将担任副首相。卡梅伦保证，他将和自由民主党党魁克莱格衷诚合作，摒弃党派之间的分歧，协助国家解决财政危机、社会和政治改革等问题。
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, at Buckingham Palace, London, in an audience to invite him to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following last week's General Election, Tuesday May 11, 2010. [Agencies] |
Conservative leader David Cameron became Britain's youngest prime minister in almost 200 years Tuesday after Gordon Brown stepped down and ended 13 years of Labor government.
Cameron said he aims to form a full coalition government with the third-place Liberal Democrats after his Conservative Party won the most seats but did not get a majority in Britain national election last week.
Conservative Party officials told The Associated Press that Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg would serve as Britain's deputy prime minister.
The two officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the appointments ahead of an official announcement, said Clegg and four other members of his Liberal Democrats would win Cabinet posts.
Ex-Conservative Party leader William Hague will serve as Foreign Secretary, and Conservative lawmaker George Osborne has been appointed as new Treasury chief, according to the Conservatives.
A third Conservative official told the AP that party lawmaker Liam Fox will be defense secretary.
The hawkish Fox takes a tough line on Iran's disputed nuclear program, and is a staunch advocate of Britain's retaining a nuclear deterrent.
Cameron, 43, said it would be "hard and difficult work" to govern as a coalition but added that Britain had serious economic issues to tackle. Cameron visited Buckingham Palace and was asked to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II less than an hour after Brown tendered his resignation to the monarch.
Cameron and Clegg's pact would be the first coalition government since World War II.
Arriving at London's Downing Street hand in hand with his wife Samantha, Cameron said he believed that Britain's "best days lie ahead."
Hundreds of onlookers, many of them booing, crowded the gates of Downing Street to watch on, as Cameron swept into his new home less than 90 minutes after an emotional Brown had made a farewell address.
"We have some deep and pressing problems — a huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform," Cameron said. "For those reasons, I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats."
"Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders who want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest," Cameron said.
Standing outside 10 Downing St. alongside his wife Sarah, Brown spoke in strained tones as he wished Cameron well.
"Only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good," he said.
Brown said he had "loved the job, not for its prestige, its titles and its ceremony, which I do not love at all."
"No, I loved the job for its potential to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous, more just — truly a greater Britain."
After his brief statement, the 59-year-old Brown walked hand-in-hand with his wife and young sons John and Fraser down Downing Street, where a car waited to take him to the palace.
Brown spent about 15 minutes inside the palace and was then driven away — no longer Britain's leader. Minutes later he arrived at Labor Party headquarters, where he was greeted warmly by cheering staffers.
Brown told party staff that his deputy Harriet Harman would become interim Labor leader until a formal leadership takes place to select his permanent successor.
Brown's resignation ended five days of uncertainty after last week's general election left the country with no clear winner. It left Britain with its first so-called hung Parliament since 1974. Britain's Conservatives won the most seats but fell short of a majority, forcing them to bid against the Labor Party for the loyalty of the Lib Dems.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the details of a deal were being worked on, but he would be "very surprised" if an agreement was formally announced before Wednesday.
Clegg's Liberal Democrats have a more complex process, and may need to hold a meeting of around 200-300 grass roots members to formally ratify the coalition. Their joint government needs to be in place in time to draft a legislative program that will be announced in Parliament on May 25.
Brown's departure follows three successive election victories for his center-left Labor Party, all of which were won by his predecessor Tony Blair, who ousted the Conservatives in 1997.
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(Agencies)
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
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