The prospect of a referendum reflects the overwhelming mood among the Tories, who sometimes mention Norway – a non-EU member whose main role in global affairs is to award the Nobel Peace Prize – as a model for Britain’s role in the world. Of course, Norway has the world’s highest per capita income.
可能举行公投反映了保守党内的压倒性情绪。保守党有时会把挪威当成英国在世界立足的榜样——不加入欧盟，在国际社会中的主要作用是颁发诺贝尔和平奖。当然，挪威拥有全世界最高的人均收入。但这并不能当作英国或其他西欧国家衡量自己的标准，因为挪威人口稀少、人种单一，而且坐拥并很好地管理着巨量自然资源。