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Ladies in power

July 25, 2024   ·   0 Comments

by CONSTANCE SCRAFIELD

There have been many ladies seated on the thrones of power in their own lands.

For recent history, Maggie Thatcher may be the most famous of them, to us in Europe and North America at least and I was living in the UK during some of the years of her time as British Prime Minister.

Maggie Thatcher’s father was the Mayor of Grantham and a strong influence on her life. She studied Chemistry at Oxford University and went on to read the Bar before being elected as a Conservative MP in 1959.

There is a story that she was “groomed,” as it were, by people who bring fledgeling politicians into a more prominent public view. Seeing her potential, they changed her hair, upgraded her wardrobe and let her loose on the British political scene.

Rising through the ranks, Mrs. Thatcher entered the Cabinet as Education Secretary in 1970. Opposing the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath, she surprised many by winning the Conservative Party leadership in 1975.

In 1979, the Conservative Party won a general election. Maggie Thatcher became the Prime Minister and was dubbed the Iron Lady.

They were turbulent times and Mrs. Thatcher ruled with passion, taking the country to a very minor war against the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina, rebuking the Argentinian claim to them.

The most impressive Thatcher moment for me was the night of October 12, 1984, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army, known as the IRA planted a bomb in the bathroom of her suite at the Grand Hotel in Brighton during a Conservative Party conference. There was the usual devastation and there was Maggie Thatcher. 

For no particular reason, I was up, watching television at 3 a.m. and the program was interrupted by the news of the IRA’s bomb. The live pictures of people being carried out on stretchers, including her own husband, Dennis Thatcher was a sad watch, but Maggie Thatcher was a surprise again.

She appeared before the ready cameras, her hair coiffed to perfection; her pearls and earrings still intact and adorning her, exactly as though she was speaking to us on the way to lunch or a meeting.

And she said, “We will not be intimidated by terrorists. This will not stand. Britain will never bow to such fear mongering.”

I had to laugh and laugh. I could not but picture the faces of the bombers who had gone to such length, corrupting and paying fortunes, maybe, to place this, as they must have thought, killer bomb, only to see their target perfectly well and entirely unafraid and defiant. 

How they must have howled while the world watched her in wonder and respect.

Forty-three years on, another lady Prime Minister of England et al, Liz Truss was somewhat dumped into the position in September 2022, my take on it. Her Chancellor of the Exchequer wrote a mini-budget that all but brought the country to its knees. He resigned and Ms. Truss’ rule as Prime Minister did not outlive an iceberg lettuce that was set up in a historical joke, comparing the lifetime of the lettuce to her month as Prime Minster.

There have been many powerhouse Lady Prime Ministers. Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister of India from September 1966 to March 1977, during which time, her considerable intelligence and energy put her on the map as widely admired and respected. She was minister of many political offices and internationally, a participant of very many organizations, including several appointments within UNESCO.

Notwithstanding all that, she was assassinated in October 1984 at her home. 

In Israel, Golda Meir helped to found the State of Israel in 1948 and was the fourth Prime Minister and the only lady to hold that office from 1969 to 1974.

Here in Canada, of course, our sole lady Prime Minister was Kim Campbell, who inherited, really, the office of Prime Minister in June 1993, after Brian Mulroney was so unpopular, he resigned. With a number of university degrees, Ms. Campbell also held many Minister posts and careers.

The election of October 1993, however, saw the Conservative Party lose all but two seats, including Ms. Campbell’s.

The truth is, I believe, around the world, it is hoped that the next President of the United States is a first-time woman.

Kamala Harris is another very well-educated person, who has held numerous seats of influence and importance. She is highly intelligent and can certainly hold her own and better in any exchange or debate. A friend of mine has objected to what he has seen as her inclination to accommodate rather than take a stronger stance.

Yet, she is not soft where tough is needed. There are many reasons why her grip on facts and knowledge of politics, people and wisdom could see her through to the President’s chair. She and her team will face Machiavellian efforts to keep Trump on course to win; for this to be a fair and honest election, it will require vigilance and bravery, even, on the part of all Americans.

The rest of us will watch with fascination this potentially dangerous circus to the south of us but the world’s nations will have to reassess many of their own stances if Kamala Harris does not win.

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