Word: thatcherism
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Twice a week Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher goes before the British House of Commons to answer questions from the floor. Although the proceedings get heated at times, the opening moves of each Tuesday's Question Time are predictably dull: Thatcher lists her pending official engagements, then usually concludes, "And this evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen." Last week that routine statement nearly brought down the House. The opposition benches erupted in jeers, while Thatcher's Tories fired back with a defensive round of cheers for their leader...
...unusual outburst was triggered by a provocative newspaper article. The London Sunday Times, citing "sources close to the Queen," had reported that Elizabeth II was "dismayed by many of Mrs. Thatcher's policies." For weeks there had been rumors that Her Majesty was not amused by divisions within the 49-member Commonwealth over Thatcher's refusal to consider sanctions against South Africa. But the Sunday Times's story went further. It charged that "the Queen considers the Prime Minister's approach often to be uncaring, confrontational and socially divisive." Specifically, the report continued, the monarch feels that the Thatcher government...
Palace insiders readily offer that Her Majesty is not always comfortable with Thatcher's shrillness, her tendency to lecture and her radical conservatism. Instead, the Queen is characterized as a moderate who shares her eldest son's social concerns about race relations and urban deterioration. Thus rose the unlikely speculation that the "palace mole" may have been none other than Prince Charles, a rumor that the Sunday Times refuted...
...Queen is unhappy with her Prime Minister, it may be because she wears more than one crown. She is also head of the Commonwealth, a club of former British colonies, which some believe Thatcher is goading toward a full- scale crisis. The member nations' scorn of Thatcher's "negotiations, not sanctions" policy only deepened last week after an uninspiring meeting between British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe and South African State President P.W. Botha...
Meanwhile, the mounting spirit of defiance was on display as the 13th Commonwealth Games opened in Edinburgh. Only 27 of the 58 teams originally enrolled showed up for the opening ceremonies, the rest having dropped out to press their demands for sanctions. Thatcher can expect no relief when she meets in London next week with the leaders of six other Commonwealth nations. The summiteers will also dine at Buckingham Palace, where all ears will be cocked to hear what the Queen has to say. Although she never airs her political opinions publicly, it is her royal prerogative, and indeed...