Margaret Thatcher exited the world (with a capital W) on a fateful day in November 1990.She had been betrayed by her ego and sense of self-righteousness and the emasculated Tory grandees showed her the door of 10 Downing Street.
Today she died.
I was an early fan of Maggie. Not a Briton, I never paid much attention to the intricacies of her political agenda, controversial or not.For me, she was a woman who had broken the glass ceiling.She was the first woman to lead a major western nation since Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great! Unlike these two rulers, she was neither a daughter nor a widow.She was a bottom-up elected politician.She reached the top of the British political pyramid through hard work, determination, and her unwavering positions.
In the macho political environment she was the odd one out.Not a feminist, she didn’t mentor other women; to the contrary she relished her queen bee status in her cabinet.Her friends and allies piled compliments on her.Her rivals, enemies or even negotiation opponents fell over themselves in portraying her as a virago.The Soviets allegedly coined the term Iron Lady. Foes went on records with gross and sexist comments.Sadly, the French were the crudest in this department. When Maggie stood her ground in negotiations, exemplifying typical Gallic misogyny, President Chirac reportedly said that she was a housewife who wanted his balls on a tray.
Maggie Thatcher epitomized the stateswoman.When she was ousted in 1990, she was replaced by a non-entity and, for the British Tory party, it has been downhill since. Thatcher is the true role model for women who want to make a difference in politics.So ladies, get on with it, stop moaning and go for it. Remember who said: “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”
Some good points.
ReplyDeleteGD
The (or not) was quite silly Mme. You should have listened to Tina Brown today...
ReplyDeleteHD
E exatamente isso! Uma mulher admiravel que se fez respeitar. So para completar: li hoje num jornal alema que Mitterand teria dito dela que tem .
ReplyDeleteBeijos
MS
...os olhos de Caligula e a boca de Marylin Monroe.
DeleteNa verdade ele dice os labios de Marylin...
Well-said, though her politics deeply undercut my appreciation. To me she was misguided not only in her politics—perhaps her desire to be part of a class to which she was not to the manner born, though God knows she tried to overcome it with her plummy pronunciation which to me sounded like an actress imitating an accent—but especially in her lack of support for women. She was like a lot of women who prevail on whatever level through the force of personality, but also by letting men know they shouldn’t fear them for being mere feminists. I guess one could say that for men (if Chirac is a criterion) she was worse than a feminist because she couldn’t be “devalued” by being labeled as one, but for women she was not enough, especially in our modern times.
ReplyDeleteLS
Chirac a vraiment dit cela?!!
ReplyDeleteJe suis d'accord avec toi. J'avais de l'admiration pour cette femme, même si (parce que) elle n'était pas particulièrement charmante ou aisée à cotoyer, dit-on.
Tu dois être également d'accord avec Sheryl Sandberg et ce qu'elle prône dans son livre, fraichement sorti: "Lean In". Je ne l'ai pas encore lu, seulement des extraits, mais je suis d'accord avec son message: pour faire sa place dans ce monde d'hommes, il faut apprendre à jouer le jeu et ne pas avoir peur. Prendre sa place ne se fait pas sans jouer des coudes, au risque de déplaire parfois...
e.n.
Yes he did say this. Mitterand also made some derogatory comments as LS wrote...According to her peers, Maggie's personality was both abrasive and cajoling. She did't leave people indifferent. She inspired passion (many men were infatuated with her) and loathing.
ReplyDeletewikibea
Agree 100% especially when you said that she epitomized the stateswoman role! A remarkable woman at the right place and time. Good for England! Too bad Dilma does not follow her steps...
ReplyDeleteVery good, Beatrice.
ReplyDeleteBut you didn't mention the single most important event in her "reign" & responsible for all the adulation, a Statue in the House of Commons, a "royal" funeral in St Paul's etc etc - she won a war! That looked improbable & unlikely when the Argentines invaded the Falklands.
If it wasn't for that she wouldn't have won 2 more terms as PM as well as all the commemorations taking place now.
HA
Hi, my focus was on "breaking the political glass ceiling". As a woman she is a role model for female politicians. Let's hope that Hillary follows her lead. Angela still gets her share of sexist comments.
ReplyDeletebeatrice wikibea
Quite agree . Today the BBC said that the moment she saw Chirac, she took an instant dislike to him. I think for such a bright woman which unquestionably she was, hers was a sad end .
ReplyDeletelots of ❤ A
She was a hysterique....who suffered of self-loathing....like that other clown- Reagan ...Those two actually worked in institutions which they professed to hate- government...Reagan was the one who said that the problem with the economy was "government" and Thatcher said as much by pushing the very hatred that was fighting within her own humourless soul...she was a "product' of a small corner store whose owner- her father- was like many little shop keepers humourless and constantly living the anxiety of potential bankruptcy...she hated Unions for that reason....she in effect was motivated by revenge...She like that other second rate actor were far too idiotic to see and assess the consequences of their revengeful agenda- the growth of personal greed as a vertue...and let's not forget that it was in their area and under their ideology that we saw "greed is good" and the rise of the "hero Wall Street" speculator....
ReplyDeleteRevisonism will take care of her as it will take care of Reagan....we need another Generation to really understand the damage that those two have caused the world!!!
F.M.