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G is for “greatest British peacetime prime minister”

April 8, 2013 by 4 Comments
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unless you’ve been under a rock today, you’ve heard the news that Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, has died.

She was eulogized by current U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron as “the greatest British peacetime prime minister.”

Rest in peace, Margaret Thatcher.

Since I’m no expert on Britain’s “Iron Lady,” here’s a few hits from around the web (none of which I can take credit for):

Great quotes:

  • “If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”
  • “I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.”
  • “If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn’t swim.”
  • “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

And one of my favorites:

  • “Europe will never be like America. Europe is a product of history. America is a product of philosophy.”

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anigif_enhanced-buzz-19622-1365434487-13The Wall Street Journal told this story about Thatcher’s first meeting with Mikhail Gorbechev:

The close and candid relationships Mrs. Thatcher formed with both Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Mr. Reagan, and her vocal support of the uncompromising U.S. position toward the Soviet Union, proved an important element in the end of the Cold War.

At her first meeting with Mr. Gorbachev, she leaned over the table to tell her Soviet counterpart over lunch: “Welcome to the United Kingdom. I want our relationship to get off to a good start, and to make sure there is no misunderstanding between us—I hate Communism,” said Sir Bernard, her press secretary at the time.

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Filed Under: History and People, Leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

firing a mayor, part 2: still, only in Russia.

September 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Yuri Luzhkov

Image via Wikipedia

On the way to work on Monday I listened to a report on NPR about the sacking of the Mayor of Moscow, Russia, by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Where I’m from, mayors are independently elected officials, so it struck me as similar to President Obama firing Mayor Bloomberg of New York.

Apparently, the Mayor in question–Yury Luzhkov–is considered to be one of Medvedev’s rivals for 2012 (not just a presidential election in our next of the woods, apparently).  Firing him is the Kremlin’s way of removing a major rival before the 2012 elections.  Luzhov, who has been mayor since 1992, came to power under Boris Yeltsin.  Predicatably, Luzhov was not happy about being fired.

“In our country the fear of expressing your view has existed since 1937,” Luzhkov said, referring to the peak of the repression and Great Terror under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

“If our leadership merely supports this fear with its statements… then it is easy to go to a situation where there is just one leader in the country whose words are written in granite and who must be followed unquestionably.”

“How does this stand with your calls for ‘development of democracy’?” he asked the president.

Not that anyone really thinks of Russia of being a “lighthouse on the hill” for democracy, but still… Luzhkov said he believed he was fired because he had sought greater democracy, calling for “reinstalling direct elections for regional leaders which were scrapped in 2004 in favour of an effective direct appointment by the Kremlin.”

Medvedev brushed off the criticism. And then he appointed a new mayor of Moscow.

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Filed Under: International Interest Tagged With: , , , , , , ,