'That (splendid) woman' has died

In the last few minutes I have heard that Margaret Thatcher has died.  She truly was a politician of the highest order irrespective of whether you agreed with her or not.  She was, in my terminology, authentic.  What she believed in she articulated and when she was in power she applied it.  It so happens that I agreed with most of what she was trying to achieve so that made it easier for me to admire her, but I could say similar things concerning Clem Attlee after the war even whilst disagreeing with virtually everything he did.

Above all she was able to demonstrate that the Austrian philosophy of economics actually worked.  No longer can anyone say that what Hayek and Friedman proposed was dangerous theory, as those 365 economic twats wrote in The Times.  She was right and they were wrong!  How long will it be before we produce another authentic, clear-eyed leader with a well-honed and intelligent ideology that will match her in any way?  Don't hold your breath!

ADDITIONAL:  I reprint a photo of the lady featured in Drudge which I think captures her essence - intelligence, determination and femininity:

 

 

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Comments

[Dom]

Very sad news, but considering the state of her health I guess we can say she's at rest now. I've always admired her. No American will admit it, but she was smarter and stronger than the presidents associated with her, Reagan and Bush.

My co-worker is an expat from Bradford. He has nothing but bad things to say about her time in office. The butcher-shop owner down the street is an expat from London. He has nothing but good things to say about her. I guess that's a good measure of what she accomplished. My own feeling is that, in economic policy, when things get bad enough, turning the tide will always be painful, and the pain will be felt first and most by those at the bottom.

[Richard Morgan]

Like her or loathe her, she was a giant, and a real leader when we sorely needed one. Now we only have pygmies. We will not see her like again.

God bless her.

P.S. Who was it who said she had "The mouth of Monroe and the eyes of Caligula?" I think the photo captures this rather well!

[backofanenvelope]

I reached voting age in 1954. Before Margaret Thatcher we had a long line of incompetent male plonkers. After her we had more of the same. She was an aberration and as such a great Prime Minister.

It was Mitterand who said the Monroe/Caligula thingy. I met lots of Americans who thought she would make a great President and plenty of Europeans who would have traded their leaders in for Mrs Thatcher.

[rogerh]

Like her or loathe her, she was a giant, and a real leader when we sorely needed one. Amen to that.

As an agricultural friend said at a recent funeral "they're drawing them from our pen Roger", ask not for whom the bell tolls.....

[David Duff]

Yes, Dom, most of the north of England detested her because that was the heartland of the National Union of Mineworkers (see post above). Interestingly today, most of those old pit towns and villages have been transformed into pleasant places with much easier jobs than coal mining!

Spot on, Richard, particularly your point concerning the political pygmies who lead us today.

BOE, certainly we shall not look upon her like again - at least, not for a while!

[Odin's Raven]

She was the last great leader this country is likely to have.

[JK]

Well I'm an American Dom, and

I admit it.

[Dom]

Yes, JK, you're the exception that proves the rule.

[dearieme]

"as those 365 economic twats wrote in The Times": it was 364 - my interpretation of that number was that they'd tried for 365 but that the useless twats couldn't count.

[David Duff]

Thanks for the correction, DM, and your humour remains drier than one of my martinis!