They pulled themselves up by their collective bootstraps_其他

They pulled themselves up by their collective bootstraps

“Passion,” she said. So that was it. A brew of passion, her alderman father’s dictum of self-reliance and monetarism – and Thatcherism was born.

Why did Thatcherism fail in Scotland? I asked. “Thatcherism in its economic sense took off here,” she insisted. “Look at the city of Glasgow. Look at the transformation. It did not take off in the political sense. When we came into office 50% of families lived in state or local authority-owned houses. It was a much bigger turnaround than elsewhere.”

My time was up. My 40 minutes had over-run and I was no closer to her soul. Then I mentioned having read a sociology book which talked of the 13 characteristics of leadership. I said I thought of her when I saw the final characteristic was to be the scapegoat.

“Was to what?” She was suddenly at full alert.

“And what was the book? Really? And where did you read this?”

She asked me to give the details to her press secretary. It was three years since she had been ousted but she wanted the book.

I had hit a nerve. The people had never rejected her, she said. She wasn’t voted out by the public. Clearly she was mystified by what had happened to her after winning three elections – and wounded.

By mentioning that sacrifice was an aspect of leadership had I provided her with a possible answer to her party’s rejection of her?

I would be lying if I said I liked Margaret Thatcher by the time I left her. But Alderman Roberts would have been pleased for, though I didn’t agree with her, I certainly respected her.