Magic money tree
Magic money tree – locuzione
We’re kind of done with the magic money tree. There are no more free rides. (article on US congressional elections 2012).
There isn’t a magic money tree that we can shake that suddenly provides for everything that people want. (Theresa May, UK General Election, 2 June 2017)
Only a few weeks ago Theresa May was telling a nurse that the reason she couldn’t get a pay rise is that there is “no magic money tree“. Now that magic money tree is growing freely in Northern Ireland. (27 June 2017)
Durante la campagna elettorale dello scorso giugno la premier Theresa May fu duramente criticata per aver risposto a un’infermiera della sanità pubblica, che lamentava il pessimo trattamento economico della categoria sotto il governo Tory, che non c’è un magic money tree, quindi non si può avere tutto. Come dire, i soldi non crescono sugli alberi. L’aspetto più offensivo della risposta è stato il tono di condiscendenza usato dalla May, quasi parlasse con un bambino o un sempliciotto e non con un adulto che le chiedeva conto di una palese ingiustizia.
Dopo aver vinto le elezioni per il rotto della cuffia e senza maggioranza assoluta, Theresa May si è dovuta appoggiare al DUP, il partito dei protestanti nordirlandesi, in cambio di ulteriori investimenti nell’Irlanda del Nord per il valore di un miliardo di sterline. Ah, ecco! il magic money tree esiste, bisogna solo saperlo scuotere.
Origini del termine
Per quanto abbastanza vecchiotta, la locuzione magic money tree era piuttosto rara fino alla vicenda che visto coinvolta la premier britannica: oggi su Google ci sono oltre 14 milioni di risultati. Non male, per qualcosa che non esiste…
Traduzione di Loredana Riu
Magic money tree – phrase
We’re kind of done with the magic money tree. There are no more free rides. (article on US congressional elections 2012).
There isn’t a magic money tree that we can shake that suddenly provides for everything that people want. (Theresa May, UK General Election, 2 June 2017)
Only a few weeks ago Theresa May was telling a nurse that the reason she couldn’t get a pay rise is that there is “no magic money tree“. Now that magic money tree is growing freely in Northern Ireland. (27 June 2017)
Back in June during the general election campaign the Prime Minister Theresa May (well-paid politician) was widely criticised for telling a nurse (no real-terms pay increase for eight years) that there is ‘no magic money tree’ to provide funds for pay rises for NHS workers or anything else. The reason Mrs May’s use of the term to a hard-pressed, underpaid public service worker caused such a furore is its patronising tone. After all, only children and idiots believe in magic, so to suggest that someone believes there is a magic tree that rains down money at will is to insult their maturity and intelligence.
Mrs May went on to win the election by the skin of her teeth and, finding herself without an overall majority, reached an agreement with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party that their 10 MPs would support her legislative programme for two years. In return, Mrs May somehow found an extra £1 billion to be spent on Northern Ireland’s roads, healthcare and education. It seems there is a magic money tree if you know just how to shake it.
Origin
The term magic money tree has been around for a few years but was very infrequent indeed until it was used by Theresa May. Back in 2013 there were only a few dozen instances of it in a large Internet corpus, while at the time of writing a Google search brings up almost 15 million hits. That’s quite a lot for something that doesn’t exist.
