WikiLeaks paper reveals US officials were recognizing Margaret Thatcher as the genuine voice of a beleaguered bourgeoise, even before her election as PM
A 1975
US internal confidential cable was intending to inform the US
Secretary of State about the then ‘new star’ of the British
political scene, Margaret Thatcher.
Apart
from the impressive details around Thatcher's personality, perhaps
the most impressive part is the one where Thatcher was recognized as
"the genuine voice of a beleaguered bourgeoise",
while she was described through some basic characteristics of the
neoliberal ideology.
Even
more impressive, the fact that the letter was recognizing that the
upper class was losing ground, implying that Thatcher could assist in
retaining its power by becoming herself a valuable ally of the
neoliberal doctrine that, at that time, was rising in the US.
Yet, as
the letter describes, Thatcher should change her image in order to
attract the UK working class and take the power in the future
national elections.
Key
points:
Even
before her great leap upward, Mrs. Thatcher had been the
personification of a British middle class dream come true. Born the
daughter of a grocer, she had by dint of her own abilities and
application won through, securing scholarships to good schools,
making a success of her chosen career, and marrying advantageously.
It is
not surprising then that she espouses the middle class values of
thrift, hard work, and law and order, that she believes in
individual choice, maximum freedom for market forces, and minimal
power for the state.
Hers
is the genuine voice of a beleaguered bourgeoise, anxious about its
eroding economic power and determined to arrest society's seemingly
inexorable trend towards collectivism. Somewhat unchivalrously,
Denis Healey has dubbed her "la pasionaria of middle class
privilege."
Unfortunately
for her prospects of becoming a national, as distinct from a party,
leader, she has over the years acquired a distinctively upper middle
class personal image. Her immaculate grooming, her imperious
manner, her conventional and somewhat forced charm, and above all her
plummy voice stamp her as the quintessential suburban matron, and
frightfully english to boot. None of this goes down well with the
working class of England (one-third of which used to vote
conservative), to say nothing of all classes in the Celtic fringes of
this island.
If
she is ever to become Britain's first woman Prime Minister, she must
use that time to humanize her public image and broaden the base of
her party's appeal. The odds are against her, but after her
stunning organizational coup d'etat this past month, few are prepared
to say she can't do it.
Full
cable:
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