BEST known as a destination for honeymooners in search of perfect white beaches and swaying palms, the Seychelles islands rarely make any sort of headlines. Few tourists would even have noticed the presidential election on July 30th, in which James Michel, leader of the Seychelles People`s Progressive Front, was returned with 54% of the ballot. For Mr. Michel, it was the first time he had faced the islands 62,000 odd voters, having been promoted from vice president two years ago by his predecessor, Albert René, who had ruled the islands for 27 years since taking power in a coup in 1977.
　　To the casual eye, Seychelles seems both fortunate and well governed. The 115 islands, most of them uninhabited, cover a mere 445 square kilometers (175 square miles) of the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar, and enjoy several advantages over most of the rest of Africa. The weather is never extreme. There is no malaria. The islanders have free education and health care. Their multiracial society is pretty harmonious. With GDP at around $8,000 a head, there is almost no discernible poverty.
　　But this standard of living has come at a cost: the IMF says its public debt is too high and may be unsustainable. Mr. Michel`s main opposition, the Seychelles National Party, which scored 46% in the elections, claims that Seychelles, per person, is the worlds most indebted country; with some $590m of external debt for just 82,000 people, it is certainly one of them. A black market in foreign currency already exists as speculation persists that the government, unable to meet its obligations, may be forced to devalue. Basic consumer goods sometimes run out. If, as the IMF predicts, GDP falls by over 1% this year, Mr. Michel may find his next five years in power more testing than he had hoped.
　　The country needs more ways of making money. In the cold war, it was easy. The Seychelles played each side off against the other, remaining a member of the Commonwealth as well as the NonAligned Movement and taking military aid from the Soviet Union while leasing a satellite tracking station to the Americans. Since those streams of revenue dried up, the main Seychellois streams of revenue have been from tourism-leasing land to foreign hoteliers-and from tuna: the government earns about $200m a year from selling tunafishing licenses to Spain, France and South Korea.
　　But conflict in the Middle East has brought Seychelles an unexpected bonus: Western warships stop off in the islands, which offer rest and recreation. The soldiers and sailors scuba dive, sail and drink Seybrew, the local beer-and pay for it all in hard currency.

　　说起塞舌尔群岛，许多人只知道它是度蜜月者找寻美丽的白色沙滩和摇曳的棕榈树的目的地之一。除此之外，几乎很少有媒体对其进行报道，就连游客们也很少有人注意到7月30日该国举行的总统选举。这次选举中，塞舌尔人民进步阵线领导人詹姆斯•米歇尔获得了54％的选票。对于米歇尔而言，这是在他两年前被前任总统阿尔伯特•雷纳从副总统提拔为总统后，首次面对该岛6.2万余名选民。雷纳自1977年在一场政变中上台以后已经统治该岛国27年。
　　乍一看，塞舌尔似乎很幸运，治理得也比较好。它位于印度洋上、马达加斯加以北，全国共有岛屿115个（其中大多数无人定居），总面积仅为445平方公里（175平方英里）。相比非洲其他国家，它拥有不少优势。不冷不热的天气，没有疟疾，岛民们享受免费教育和医疗，他们的多种族社会十分和谐。由于人均GDP大约有8000美元，因此几乎没有明显的贫困现象。
　　不过，达到这种生活水准是要付出代价的--国际货币基金组织说，该国国债过高，可能难以为继。米歇尔的主要反对党、在本次选举中获得46%选票的塞舌尔民族党断言，塞舌尔是世界上人均负债最多的国家。由于投机买卖屡禁不止，外币交易黑市已然形成，因此无法尽职尽责的政府或许将被迫对货币进行贬值。基础性消费商品有时候也消耗一空。根据国际货币基金组织预测，如果今年GDP下降超过1%，米歇尔就会感到在随后的五年执政岁月中，他要接受比他所期望的更多的考验。
　　这个国家需要更多赚钱途径。这在冷战时期是很容易的。塞舌尔当时仍然是英联邦以及不结盟运动的一员，它一边接受苏联提供的军事援助，一边又把一个卫星跟踪站租给了美国人，可谓两头得利。自从那些收入来源枯竭之后，塞舌尔人收入主要源自旅游业--出租土地给外国宾馆经营者--和金枪鱼（政府依靠向西班牙、法国和韩国出售金枪鱼捕鱼许可证，每年可挣得2亿美元）。
　　不过，中东冲突已经给塞舌尔带来了一份意外收获--该岛为经停的西方战船提供休闲和娱乐场所。士兵和水手们在那里潜水，玩帆船，喝当地人酿造的啤酒--全都用硬通货（美金）买单。