Remembering Margaret Thatcher - Main contents

Very sad news from the UK about the death of Margaret Thatcher; so today a blog on my personal reflections of her, and what she stood for.

I remember meeting her first in the seventies; and also a decade later, when I was a Dutch Minister and she Prime Minister. I was myself a young woman in politics; and here was someone who showed that women could succeed, lead and reach the top. Independently of her politics, that inspired me; as it must have inspired a whole generation of women, in politics and beyond.

She often, famously, differed from the views of the European Commission. But she also understood the benefits of Europe, and how to deliver them. She saw the power of the single market, and was prepared to make the institutional changes needed to achieve it. That engagement paid off; and the single market today stands as Europe’s crown jewel - even if the task is not yet complete, with new areas like the digital and telecommunications sectors still not fully benefiting.

She didn’t always believe in diplomacy. I remember her visit to the Netherlands in the eighties. Our own Prime Minister tried to flatter her, noting approvingly that ‘Thatcherite” was already being used as a Dutch word . In response she was pretty direct: observing that “Lubbersite” was far from making it into English, and would not do so unless he was prepared to take tough decisions, rather than merely parroting woolly language. Such frankness is how she left such a mark, not just on the language, but on the whole political landscape.

She famously said she was not a consensus politician, but conviction politician. Of course she has her critics; in politics, not everyone will agree with your convictions. But that approach is worth remembering today: a time when we face many challenges and need to change how we operate. At such a time, it’s worth remembering that sometimes we should not always just be polite and diplomatic, but honest and clear about the direction we need to head in.