The Falkland Factor

...THATCHER'S VICTORY The Falkland F&CtOF BY NORMAN GELB MARGARET THATCHER London No matter what happens now—economic disaster, political paralysis, social upheaval—Margaret Thatcher belongs to history Not that she is finished—far from ll If she called new elections tomorrow, she would win hands down and be installed in office for at least another live years The point is that the first female Prime Minister in British history has already staked a claim to lasting fame in a way that eluded most of her predecessors in modern times Few can recall the achievements of Harold MacMillan, Alec Douglas-Home, or Edward Heath Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, the most recent residents at 10 Downing Street, have left little to be remembered by But Margaret Thatcher, who sent a formidable flotilla into the stormy "South Forties" to wrest several bits of land back from the Argentine aggressor, has emerged as Britain's most memorable leader since Winston Churchill And it is unlikely that any Parliamentary investigation of why or how the war was waged will do more than temporarily take some of the glitter off the victory A terror to her foes, Thatcher is often as not a vexation to her friends She has had the gall to name before the media government ministers who have blundered, and to aggravate the situation by forgiving them, like a school mistress dealing with a bunch of children She has told the publicly financed vet independent BBC to "set its house in order " In Washington, Paris and Bonn she is seen as an obstinate woman with whom it is not easy even to discuss differences of opinion One sexist member of Parliament has described her as unable to encounter opposition without hitting it with her handbag Frequently, she indulges in actions and comments that are guaranteed to provoke the resentment of most people with whom she comes into official contact Not long ago, there were rumblings among the Prime Minister's Tories that she was becoming a political liability, especially in view of her failure to improve Britain's dismal economic conditions Then she sent her warriors into the South Atlantic, where they did bold deeds with great flair When the shooting was over, crowds gathered in Downing Street to cheer Thatcher, rejoice with her, sing Rule Britannia, and confirm that they finally had a female leader worthy of the mantle of Boadi-cea It will no doubt be some time before the Falkland dispute is finally resolved Although past performance by the Prime Minister suggests she is not about to become less unyielding, it would be reckless to predict that she will continue to Norman Gelb the NI s London correspondent, is author ot The British published this month b\ Everest House defy the pressures and wishes of the West and persist in retaining sole sovereignty over the islands From here on, they will be an expense Britain can ill afford Nevertheless, Argentina's humiliation and its implications for international relations elsewhere have generated little concern in British government circles—except at the Foreign Office, currently in discreet disgrace for having failed to spot the developing conflict well in advance Meanwhile, the Falkland Factor has transformed the face of British politics, lifting Thatcher up on a pedestal from which her opponents are finding it difficult to dislodge her In their desperation to uncover an issue where she might be vulnerable, the best they have been able to do is raise questions about who is to blame for Britain's initial un-preparedness This has hardly helped the fledgling Social Democratic Party Blossoming with hope and promise, it saw its momentum destroyed as the Argentine adventure took over the front pages At present it is struggling to regain some measure of public recognition of its existence The Labor Party, unceasingly buffeted by masochistic internal wrangling, is trying to restore its tough Opposition image During the conflict it could not avoid hopping on the patriotic bandwagon to "back the boys out there in the islands," who were, after all, fighting for a just cause No matter how persistently Michael Foot demanded more trust in the proceedings of the United Nations, by backing the troops the Labontes found themselves in the embarrassing position of backing their nemesis at Number 10 Downing Street as well Only the far Left chose to blast the battle to recapture the Falklands as a crime and an abomination Its spokesmen sneered at "Thatcher's War," meaning to draw blood Instead, the Prime Minister proudly accepted the appellation, for it seemed to reflect national glory where glory has been a dim memory Now that the bloodshed is over, one does not hear much of the earlier questioning about whether those few remote chunks of territory in a storm-tossed ocean were worth the life of a single British lad (see "Fallout from the Falklands," NL, May 31) Even those Britons who find jubilation and bragging undignified take quiet satisfaction in the way the " paras," the Royal Marines and the other units met the challenge almost half a world away Fortunately, the poor showing of the Argentine Army and its quick surrender at Port Stanley kept casualties comparatively low And unlike the case of casualties among British troops in Ulster, where grief is tinged with a sense of futility, for those who fell on or near the Falklands sorrow is embellished with pride and a reassuring patriotic impulse Such sentiments have been absent so long that for many here—both participants and observers—they seem strange The feelings may in part reflect the press coverage of the Falkland Islands confrontation American correspondents in Vietnam tended to file dispatches that told of the horror and pomtlessness of the fighting British correspondents with the task force in the Falklands, to a man, sent back reports that glowed with admiration for the pugnacious spirit, dedication, martial skills, and sheer good fellowship of the British forces Correspondent Max Hastings observed "Most of us have found great satisfaction in being able to thrust ourselves wholeheartedly into the service of a cause without bothering very much about moral or strategic dilemmas " In the light of Vietnam, Watergate and the infectious spirit of America' s often cynical investigatory reporting, it was startling to see Hastings, who has a well-deserved reputation as an intelligent, probing reporter, write that the majority of journalists with the task force "decided before the landing that our role was simply to report as sympathetically as possible what the British forces are doing here " One wonders what the late, lamented Lou Grant would say to that There has been some criticism in London of the way the Ministry of Defense handled press communications during the conflict, and a post-bellum shudder at the large number of lives that might have been lost if, for example, the Argentine Navy had left the safety of the coastal waters and attacked the troop-carrying QE-2 These qualms and complaints have been confined to a comparatively small number of individuals, however In a public opinion poll last month, four out of five adults said the conduct of the Falklands conflict had made them proud to be British It is this wave of contentment that Thatcher and her Conservatives hope to ride to the next elections Whether they can is another matter Battles were won and British honor was redeemed Yet no dent whatsoever has been put in the high unemployment levels, and, though the inflation rate has more or less levelled off, it has not declined as much as Thatcher's advisers had forecast Some pundits here are predicting that Thatcher cannot expect to bask in popular acclaim past Christmas, when the country's underlying economic problems will have again chipped away at her popularity The unknown factor at this moment is whether the recent sporadic rail strikes will lead to a bout of disorienting stoppages in other industries The articulate new head of the miners' union, Arthur Scargill, a Left-wing militant bent on bringing down the Tory government through strike action, has already declared his determination to get on with that job without delay He is trying to convince other key umons to join the campaign, and may yet prove a more formidable foe than General Galtien A victory over Scargill could make Thatcher politically invulnerable, failure to meet the threat he poses could neutralize the Falklands Factor and divest the Prime Minister of her present public approbation No British politician can forget that right after leading Britain through the perils of World War II, Winston Churchill was unceremoniously sent packing by British voters to whom he had been an unquestioned savior, but who had tired of heroes and wanted peace, quiet and social justice instead...