The Thatcher Impact

Though many in the world had a view of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher as the lady to look out for with the handbag, it cannot be denied that her life as the leader of the UK changed the outlook towards women in power. Also, her many decisions have altered the global political landscape to such an extent that it is still being felt today. A quote from Gillian Shepherd, who was the junior minister under Thatcher, rightly sums up what we have to understand of the lady, “Even those people who disagree with her policies and her politics I think will agree that she was an absolutely remarkable and exceptional woman.” Gillian Shepherd, apart from serving under Margaret Thatcher is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, “The Real Iron Lady: Working with Mrs. Thatcher.” Margaret Thatcher died on Monday, following a stroke, at the glorious age of 87, a day too early. In her wake, she has left behind a legacy that resonates in the entire of Europe and the US, a primary result of her staunchly conservative take on politics in the 1980s, among which were included her points on communism, capitalism and the welfare state. She was one of the main reasons for the re-invigoration of the US-Britain alliance. She later joined the Americans in maintaining an unapologetic confrontation against the Soviet Union and its attempt to carry on breeding communist puppets in Eastern Europe. This led to a gradual decline of the Soviet Union and she would eventually witness the Western Capitalism embracing in places like China. She also defended Capitalism when it cropped up against the likes of Socialism and was one of the first European leaders who were responsible for the privatization of large sectors of the economy, a part which had been overtaken by sluggish Government bureaucracy. Margaret Thatcher was born to a grocer’s family and she rose through the Conservative Party to become one of the greatest leaders of the modern world. She is duly credited for solidifying the relationship between United Kingdom and America, which in turn gave reason to one of the biggest alliances in history. All this are a mere footnote to what the great ‘Iron Lady’ achieved in the course of her life and the events that it led to. To say she was a merely a great leader would be an understatement; perhaps, a “great human being” would be more apt.