In the first two days after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher passed away, it seemed as though every reporter and op-ed contributor had a different view of the Iron Lady. Comments on Lady Thatcher ranged from current Prime Minister David Cameron declaring, “she saved our country” and President George H. W. Bush remembering her as “a leader of rare character who carried high the banner of her convictions,” to the front page headlines of the British newspapers Morning Star and Socialist Worker, which read “The Woman Who Tore Britain Apart” and “Rejoice!,” respectively.
To be sure, Lady Thatcher was perhaps one of the most admired and hated leaders of the 20th century, and she remains a divisive figure in British and international politics today. After having encountered so many differing accounts on the success or failure of “Thatcherism” — her economic policies of privatization, spending cuts, and cracking down on unions —, her position on Britain’s relationship with the rest of Europe, and her support for various other world leaders, it seems to me that every person who is trying to define her legacy will ultimately be disappointed. She will not have a single lasting image; as much as people disagreed about her while she was alive, they will continue to hold vastly different opinions of her in death.
Still, across all the articles and opinions on the former prime minister, there was one characterization of her that even her fiercest critics and most loyal supporters agreed on; she was, without doubt, a leader who, for better or for worse, held fast to her convictions and never backed down. In her own words, “The lady is not for turning.” Her victory over the country’s once powerful unions and her successful negotiations for a rebate from the European Economic Community are just two examples of her steeled resolve in the face of great opposition. However, one person who commented on Lady Thatcher’s passing emphasized a very different characterization of the former prime minister; while she was strong in her convictions, she was someone with whom he could work, even though she was supposed to be his enemy. This person was former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Without a doubt, Lady Thatcher was a fierce opponent of communism. Indeed, Gorbachev noted in his tribute to Lady Thatcher that their opposing convictions initially created severe tensions between them. But eventually, Gorbachev said, they were “able to reach an understanding” because “we gradually developed a personal rapport that became increasingly friendly over the years…we reached a degree of mutual trust.” While other Western leaders saw Gorbachev as just another Soviet leader who would continue détente policies and the expansion of the global reach of communism, Lady Thatcher saw something different in him, a belief she affirmed when she stated, “I like Mr. Gorbachev. We can do business together.” Indeed, she was the one who convinced President Reagan that Gorbachev was someone with whom they work to end the Cold War, and she supported Gorbachev’s Perestroika, even when most of the West doubted the sincerity of his reforms.
Her amiable relationship with Gorbachev and her support for him played a pivotal role in ending the Cold War. While Lady Thatcher only had sharp criticism for her domestic adversaries, including union bosses and opposition MPs, she was able to work with the leader of the Soviet Union, in conjunction with Reagan, to end the most significant geopolitical conflict of the post-war era.
In 1976, before either she or Gorbachev were the leaders of their countries, the Soviet Union newspaper Red Star dubbed her “the Iron Lady.” In what was, at the time, a comical and mocking response to this title, Lady Thatcher said in a speech to fellow members of her party, “I stand before you tonight in my red chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my fair hair gently waved…the Iron Lady of the Western World. Me? A Cold War warrior? Well, yes—if that is how they wish to interpret my defense of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life.” But comedy aside, it perhaps was, ironically, her softer side that made her a Cold War warrior. Along side Reagan, the Iron Lady helped bring down the Iron Curtain, not through aggressive and impersonal opposition, which was her tactic on so many other issues, but rather through trust and support for Gorbachev.
For Lady Thatcher’s supporters, she will forever be remembered as a great leader, for her country and for the world, and yet to those who vehemently opposed her, she will be remembered as having ushering in a cold, unfeeling, and even destructive chapter in British history. I don’t think there can be reconciliation of these polar opinions on her legacy. And I will not deny that her opponents have some valid criticisms of her reign; no politician leaves office without making mistakes along the way, however great their achievements may be. But to those who want to go beyond criticism and dehumanize her, as many have done in the past few days, I offer her relationship with Mr. Gorbachev as evidence that there was indeed a heart beating inside the Iron Lady, a heart large enough to see good in him when no one else in the West did. Without becoming overly sentimental, it is a testament to her character and to her leadership that the woman who never compromised achieved one of, if not her greatest success through cordial relations with the president of the country that posed the greatest threat to freedom and capitalism, the two values Lady Thatcher held above all else.