My papa’s Thatcherism, my own Blairism

Sudhakar Jagdish
(Managing Editor)

It was a cold November morning of 1990 when Margaret Hilda Thatcher finally bid adieu to one of the most revered address in the World –the 10, Downing Street- after making an emotional speech from its doorsteps.

Thatcher before 10, Downing Street giving her farewell speech on November 28, 1990

(pic courtesy: BBC)

The iron railings standing behind her stood motionless as the Iron Lady, who ruled the United Kingdom for last 11 and a half year , almost in tears said: “We're happy to leave the UK in a very much better state than when we came here."

My papa has still the cuttings of the next day newspaper where it questioned ---“End of Thatcherism?”

Moving to sunlit June 27 forenoon this year, Tony Blair in almost similar fashion left the white arched doors after residing in the house for a decade. However, Blair was not alone like Thatcher. He had company of his fashionable wife Cherie and sons and a daughter, as the “happy family” posed for the shutterbugs.

Blair family

But there was a marked difference-Blair was no more iconic.

Thatcher’s last trip to Buckingham Palace to tender her resignation was termed as “unfolding of history before your eyes” by the BBC.

Media had no such ablution for Blair. The US magazine Newsweek wrote: “After a shamelessly long and high-profile six-week farewell tour, Tony Blair finally leaves office on Wednesday”.

(The last global summit that Blair attended as British premier- The G8 Summit at Baltic resort of Heiligendamm)

The BBC did not look back at Blair-era and refused to even say so. It focused on the new Premier Gordon Brown and on his Cabinet formation discussion. So was the Guardian.

Blairism was hardly heard, spoken and written, for it has been scarred with events that are not taking place either in the UK or its neighbourhood, but miles away in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As Blair for the last time answered questions at Westminster, where he admitted to the dangers faced by British soldiers in Iraq, two of them got killed in a Taliban attack in Helmand province in the yet to be normalized Afghanistan.

My father was in love with Thatcherism as I was growing, and had also predicted its end with her ‘retirement’, but I had witnessed neo-Thatcherism launched by rival New Labour under a ‘bright charming Blair’ as I gained adulthood.

The Iraq fiasco drained out sheen from the charming Premier in such a huge proportion that Michel Sheen as Blair in the 2007 Oscar winner ‘The Queen’ looked a much better Prime Minister than the real one---Confident, sharp, who would not like himself be referred as US Prez George Bush’s ‘poodle’.

Blair and Thatcher have much thing in common apart from their profession as a barrister, their reformist agenda, support to gay rights and their close to a decade rule that shaped the UK, the Europe and the World.

Both began their political life with challenges thrown at them. While Thatcher made her way to the Parliament from Labour stronghold Finchley on a Conservative ticket, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair gained victory from orthodox Labour seat Sedgefield on a reformist New Labour agenda that later paved his way to unprecedented three consecutive victories of him and his party in the general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005.

The New Labour crafted by Blair took Britons to 21st century with growth, glitter and grin. Dipped unemployment rate, growing service industry, tactical improvement of healthcare and education helped the UK citizens overcome the identity crisis post British imperialism’s death and the demise of the Cold War.

If Blair ‘loved’ Bush, Reagan was Thatcher’s philosophical soul mate.

(Bush-Blair pic courtesy: CNN)

But Thatcher never allowed the media to look her cordial bonding with Reagan look akin to Blair’s subordinate behavior vis-à-vis Bush.

Thatcher played a crucial role in mollifying US’ hardline ‘deterrence’ policy to détente (relaxing of tension, especially between nations, as by negotiations or agreements) during Cold War.

Blair failed to do so in Post 9/11 world, when Bush got infatuated with ‘pre-emptive’ strike policy that has led to mortar prone seismic Kabul, oozing blood and flesh in Baghdad, ‘nuclear’ Iran, hungry Libya and Sudan, and tumultuous Middle East.

(Blair speaking to British troops in Iraq)

Thatcher also had her own share of ‘outsourced’ wars akin to Blair’s troop struggling in Hindukush and Euphrates. She had to fight Falkland Wars in Latin America in 1982 after ruling Argentinean military invaded the Falkland Islands. But the island was at least a disputed territory and remnants of British imperialism, and Thatcher wrapped up the campaign with a success.

Thatcher fortunately did not have to cope with suicide bombings, jihadi British Muslims who have taken the war on terrorism at the doorstep of Downing Street.

Blair had too.

The nearest brush Thatcher had with terrorism was on the early October morning in 1984 when Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed Brighton Hotel injuring her cabinet colleagues. Thatcher escaped unhurt but returned a day after at the same venue without venomous speech against the perpetrators.

A year later Britain signed the Hillsborough Anglo-Irish Agreement with Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald that for the first time gave the Republic of Ireland at least an advisory say in the governance of Northern Ireland.

The Bush-Blair’s War on Terror is yet to conclude and it would be premature to pass judgment on its outcome and the change it has brought to the World -good or bad either.

Blairism for me will not end up with remembering Iraqi blood stain on his shirt but as the end of a turbulent decade that was enveloped with Taliban’s cloak, collapsing WTC, dropping of stealth bombs, execution of Daniel Pearl, Osama’s famous tapes , handcuffed prisoners at Guantanamo Bay , Saddam’s smile fading with his capture and execution that we all watched on World Wide Web etc etc.

As Blair put it on his last day: “I wish everyone -- friend or foe -- well. And that is that. The end," we look forward to see the end of this quagmire.

(Blair seen with his successor Gordon Brown)

But the truth is that Mr. Blair, it would take a long long time till climate change threatens the entire mankind altogether.

Wait a minute! Here is the final dissimilarity between Thatcher and Blair as I wrap up.

Thatcher continued as Member of Parliament determined to remain a thorn for her successor John Major. But Blair has become more global by accepting to become representative of the Quartet- the UN, US, Russia and the EU—in the Middle East peace process.

Hope the peace prevails just like my papa sighed after Thatcher’s exit. Then there was peace, now we require peace.