On 3 May 1989 Margaret Thatcher had already chalked up ten years as Prime Minister. Sixteen months earlier, on 3 January 1988, she had already become the longest-serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century. (John Campbell, "The Iron Lady")
Several of her senior colleagues, even as they applauded her achievement, felt she should have chosen the moment to announce she would step down soon, when she could still have gone out in triumph. Even her husband, Denis, briefly thought he had convinced her not to stand for another election. He did not force the issue, but he had seen enough of politics to suspect that she would be hurt in the end if she stayed too long.
Thatcher was commenting on the fall of the Berlin Wall when she uttered the following words, but they could have easily been applied to human barriers too:
"The day comes when the anger and frustrations of the people is so great that force cannot contain it. Then the edifice cracks: the mortar crumbles... One day, liberty will dawn on the other side of the wall."
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She got her power and probably her wanton glory.
ReplyDeleteIt was reported her twin children were not living with her, not close to her and she died and was cremated without their presences.
If this happens to our local political office holders too, I am not surprise that
Some children do know how respectable or evil their powerful parents were when in authority.
What is the point of gaining everything only to lose the love from people dearest to one?
patriot
Similarly, what is the point of appointing your son as Crown Prince at the expense of other people's suffering and misery?
ReplyDeleteIf people only make respectful comments merely because she has passed then it will falsely color her legacy. I can think of nothing more dangerous than making a devil into a saint simply because they have passed.
ReplyDeleteThat is why some heros turned into villians. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
ReplyDeleteEverything about the funeral just screamed "Yes, we matter too".
ReplyDeleteThose politicians who can't accept that their ego are worth nothing more than just a can of fizzled soda, no matter how much they are paid in their lifetime, and the propaganda that will paint their colored legacy.
So much name dropping, and yet, no Reagan, no Gorbachev, neither Bush nor Clinton nor Carter. Hard to ignore the niggle that she was, perhaps, more world famous in Britain than she was in the rest of the world. One-word = self aggrandizement.
We need more inspirational ideas when the time comes.
http://news.sky.com/story/1079332/thatcher-funeral-pockets-of-protests
Is/Was she the longest serving PM of the 20th century? Surely, even then, Kuan Yew had already chalked up more years than Thatcher had?
ReplyDeleteShe was possibly the longest-serving BRITISH PM...
LKY is a league on his own.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_ruling_non-royal_national_leaders_since_1870
He is as long serving as Fidel Castro 52 years in office.
If you count his posts as PM (31yrs) SM (14yrs) & MM (7 years).
But if you count his time in office as Sec-Gen since 1955, that would make him 58 years in office.
In short, he has spent 65% ie. 2/3 of his liftime in power - unthinkable in any real democracy.
Only the Thai king (real monarchy) has held its reign for 67 years, followed by Queen Elizabeth 61 years.
Talk about letting go...
As someone would say about the 377A “Why is the law on the books? Because it’s always been there and I think we just leave it.” The same goes to "Why is he still in the office? Because he's always been there and I think we just leave it".
So much for progressing with the dinosaur, while pretending to talk about futuristic robots!!
In Singapore, it's no use talking.
DeleteYou want to change government policies?
First you have to change the government.
Nothing will change until you get to the root cause of all the inertia and sacred cows.
"the wicked witch is died .... " so claimed her victims
ReplyDeletehow will it be celebrated here?
many singaporean will be sobbing and tearing ............. BUT WITH JOY