Maggie

This post has nothing to do with Germany. It does, however, have everything to do with Britain. One of the most iconic figures in British history has died to day, and I thought it fitting to write a little something about her. 

Source: www.richardgraham.me

Thatcher. The Iron Lady. For some, predominantly people in the north of England, the mere mention of her name will send chills running down the spine and cause fists to clench in rage. Her death will be met with mixed reactions - some will mourn her as a national heroine, calling her the greatest leader to ever have set foot inside No. 10 Downing Street. Others, possibly avid, faithful readers of the Guardian, will be all ready to dance on her grave. Whichever one of those categories we fall into, I am fairly sure that 8th April 2013 will be one of those ' I remember where I was' days. 

As a source of political inspiration, I'm fairly indifferent to Margaret Thatcher. Perhaps because I wasn't alive during her time in office, and thus was not there to enjoy the woman in all of her matriarchal glory. I also do not know enough about her personally or the political climate of her era to make an informed judgement on her policies. But, love her or loathe her, she was an incredibly significant force to be reckoned with in British politics; one who's only serious rival is perhaps Mr Churchill himself. 

As a political figure, however, regardless of one's own political convictions, you cannot deny that Thatcher was incredibly gifted at what she did. She invoked outbursts of fury or outpourings of support from the people she led; something that politicians these days hopelessly fail to do. She caused consensus politics to give way to adversarial politics; sending Labour ricocheting off to the depths of the Left and rupturing the broad agreement that had existed between political parties in Britain since 1945. I wish, in a way, that modern British politics were more like that, instead of parties squabbling over the centre ground. There was a whole load of superlatives used to describe Margaret Thatcher - both positive and negative, whereas the most opinionated remark I've heard about Cameron is that "he's a bit too posh." She was the poster girl for the most exciting and tense era in British politics, and for that, if nothing else, she deserves to be commended.   

As a woman, she was one of the most important in our age; the first true symbol of Girl Power. She did not succeed because of her beauty, a generous bosom, or an ability to sing, dance and shake it all about. She succeeded because of intelligence, strength and sheer willpower. She became Britain's first female Prime Minister, won three consecutive general elections and will arguably go down as one of the most iconic women in the history of Britain. She should be an example to people the world over that with enough grit and determination, success can be yours.

She made some unpopular decisions, yes. I will not pretend to agree with her euro-scepticism, nor her authoritarian attitude towards law and order. We do not see eye to eye on the poll tax or the role of the state within society. I imagine she will remain the the cause of a deep mistrust of the Conservative party in the north of England and Scotland for many, many years to come. She did, however, play a fundamental role in the breakdown of Communism, and is thus responsible for shaping the world as we know it today. Without her, the country I am currently calling home may still have been divided. Doesn't life come full circle?!

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Maggie, you were one hell of a woman. May you rest in peace. 

Emily