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Baroness Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 80th birthday today. Even the Queen, who rarely attends personal celebrations of current or former prime ministers, joined the festivities. Lady Thatcher transformed British politics for the better: the free-enterprise-oriented political philosophy that guided government policy during her 11 years as Prime Minister almost immediately came to be accepted by all three major British political parties. Count the current British PM among her admirers. As the BBC puts it, "Tony Blair almost glows when he is compared favourably to her . . ."
It's one of those charming ironies of the modern world that, in this era of stridently leftist feminism, the ideological—doctrinaire, even—Conservative Lady Thatcher has emerged as the most successful female politican of modern times.
On a personal note, the StatWife and I lived in Oxford, UK, for a year while Lady Thatcher was PM and had the distinct pleasure of voting for John Patten, Conservative MP, Oxford West & Abingdon, in the general election of June 1987, which Lady Thatcher and her Conservative Party won handily. (UK election law allows Commonwealth citizens who have resided in the country for six months to vote.) It was probably the most personally satisfying vote I have ever cast.
[...] The French media nicknamed her Mademoiselle Thatcher, after the most successful female politician of the 20th century. Ms Herold regards the nickname as a compliment. “I like what Margaret Thatcher did in Britain,” she acknowledged, noting that France’s unions still enjoy the disruptive power that has not been seen in Britain for more than two decades. “The unions in this country should be made more accountable. They are not even obliged to reveal the source of their funding.” [...]
[...] Ségo is such a big candidate that she can look down on Margaret Thatcher. François Hollande, her paramour partner and father of her four children, told the Daily Telegraph: "Margaret Thatcher has definitely not been a model for Ségolène. Even though she's a woman, Thatcher was known for her ruthless methods. She took many blows and this hardened her.” [...]