Muere Margaret Thatcher
La Dama de Hierro, histórica líder del Partido Conservador británico y primera ministra entre 1979 y 1990, fallece a los
87 años
Nació como la hija de un tendero del centro de Inglaterra y murió de forma discreta y pacífica en una habitación del Ritz de Londres, víctima de un derrame cerebral que ponía punto final a 10 años de mala salud, decenios de polémica política y 87 años de vida y de historia. Era Margaret Thatcher, la primera mujer que alcanzó, en 1979, el cargo de primera ministra británica, quizás la primera mujer que ha tenido realmente poder en estas islas desde que Isabel I reinaba en 1603, al decir de algún reputado comentarista político. Desde luego, la mujer que ha condicionado la política británica de los últimos 35 y años y quizás también los próximos 35.
“Hemos perdido a una gran primera ministra, a una gran líder, a una gran británica”, declaró el primer ministro David Cameron, al que la muerte de Thatcher le sorprendió de visita en Madrid. Los funerales, con honores militares pero sin rango de Estado, se celebrarán en la catedral de San Pablo.
Thatcher no fue la primera ni ha sido la última persona que alcanzó la cúpula del Partido Conservador desde orígenes humildes. Antes lo había hecho Edward Heath y luego lo conseguiría John Major. Pero su llegada al liderazgo tory en febrero de 1975 supuso una auténtica revolución: no solo porque rompía la tradicional hegemonía de líderes elitistas y acomodados, sino porque a pesar de su voz más bien desagradable, oratoria regular y atractivo discutible, encarnaba todo lo que se suponía que debía ser un genuino miembro del Partido Conservador británico: un patriota que creía en la familia, en Cristo y en el progreso con el sudor de la propia frente. Es decir, que creía que el progreso personal llega de la mano del esfuerzo y la responsabilidad individual y no gracias a la herencia recibida o a la generosidad del Estado. A cada uno según sus méritos, no según sus necesidades.
Margaret Thatcher est morte
La première femme chef de gouvernement et figure majeure de la vie politique britannique est décédée lundi matin à 87 ans. Correspondant à Londres
L'ancienne premier ministre britannique Margaret Thatcher est morte, lundi matin, à l'âge de 87 ans.
Margaret Thatcher, ‘Iron Lady’ Who Set Britain on New Course, Dies at 87
Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of British politics, who set her country on a rightward economic course, led it to victory in the Falklands war and helped guide the United States and the Soviet Union through the cold war’s difficult last years, died on Monday in London. She was 87.
Her spokesman, Tim Bell, said she died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel. She had been in poor health for months and had suffered from dementia.
Prime Minister David Cameroncut short a visit to Continental Europe to return to Britain after receiving the news, andQueen Elizabeth II authorized a ceremonial funeral with military honors — a notch below a state funeral — at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. A statement from the White House said that “the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”
Mrs. Thatcher was the first woman to become prime minister of Britain and the first to lead a major Western power in modern times. Hard-driving and hardheaded, she led her Conservative Party to three straight election wins and held office for 11 years — May 1979 to November 1990 — longer than any other British politician in the 20th century.
The strong economic medicine she administered to a country sickened by inflation, budget deficits and industrial unrest brought her wide swings in popularity, culminating with a revolt among her own cabinet ministers in her final year and her shout of “No! No! No!” in the House of Commons to any further integration with Europe.
But by the time she left office, the principles known as Thatcherism — the belief that economic freedom and individual liberty are interdependent, that personal responsibility and hard work are the only ways to national prosperity, and that the free-market democracies must stand firm against aggression — had won many disciples. Even some of her strongest critics accorded her a grudging respect.
At home, Mrs. Thatcher’s political successes were decisive. She broke the power of the labor unions and forced the Labour Party to abandon its commitment to nationalized industry, redefine the role of the welfare state and accept the importance of the free market.
Abroad, she won new esteem for a country that had been in decline since its costly victory in World War II. After leaving office, she was honored as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. But during her first years in power, even many Tories feared that her election might prove a terrible mistake.
In October 1980, 17 months into her first term, Mrs. Thatcher faced disaster. More businesses were failing and more people were out of work than at any time since the Great Depression. Racial and class tensions smoldered. Even her close advisers worried that her push to stanch inflation, sell off nationalized industry and deregulate the economy was devastating the poor, undermining the middle class and courting chaos.
At the Conservative Party conference that month, the moderates grumbled that they were being led by a free-market ideologue oblivious to life on the street and the exigencies of realpolitik. With electoral defeat staring them in the face, cabinet members warned, now was surely a time for compromise.
To Mrs. Thatcher, they could not be more wrong. “I am not a consensus politician,” she said. “I am a conviction politician.”
In an address to the party, she played on the title of Christopher Fry’s popular play “The Lady’s Not for Burning” in insisting that she would press forward with her policies. “You turn if you want to,” she told the faltering assembly. “The lady’s not for turning.”
Her resolve did the trick. A party revolt was thwarted, the Tories hunkered down, and Mrs. Thatcher went on to achieve great victories. She turned the Conservatives, long associated with the status quo, into the party of reform. Her policies revitalized British business, spurred industrial growth and swelled the middle class.
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