3 ms·

> Thatcher won two landslide re-elections for a reason. Arguably the reason was the war, not domestic policy [0] [0] https://history.com/news/margaret-thatche

> Thatcher won two landslide re-elections for a reason. Arguably the reason was the war, not domestic policy [0] [0] https://history.com/news/margaret-thatcher-falklands-war https://history.com/news/margaret-thatcher-falklands-war

smcl 4y ago
You're downvoted but I don't think you're wrong. In general it seems to be the case that if you're waging a war and you're not getting completely crushed the electorate (or at least the "undecided" voters") tends to rally around whoever happens to be in charge. And indeed I think it's fairly safe to say that most agree that Thatcher benefitted electorally from a strong response to the invasion. I should add that as a Scot I'm definitely not a fan of hers (you just grow up there knowing "Thatcher Bad") but I'm not quite at "put a stake through her heart and garlic round her neck"[0] :) [0] - https://twitter.com/halaljew/status/1294414600566382598 https://twitter.com/halaljew/status/1294414600566382598
- raspberry1337 4y ago
  Gulf war didn't save Senior Bush from the bad-economy, neither did the Iraq War help Tony Blair's popularity. It's a lot more complex than war-helps-current-leader, at least outside the US. It depends on the war and the context.
  - smcl 4y ago
    Fair point, these are actually great counterexamples
    - lostlogin 4y ago
      They are. That war was also unusual in that it was an attack on a country far away that wasn’t a threat to the US or UK, and there was little to be gained. It was a strange time.
gadders 4y ago
I think that was the reason for one of them, certainly. But then she and our armed forces did a tremendous job in reclaiming the Falklands from a fascist dictatorship.
raspberry1337 4y ago
Nothing in that article indicates that the war overshadowed her domestic policy, both contributed to her success.

3 ms·

> Thatcher won two landslide re-elections for a reason. Arguably the reason was the war, not domestic policy [0] [0] https://history.com/news/margaret-thatche

by noizejoy 4y ago

smcl 4y ago
You're downvoted but I don't think you're wrong. In general it seems to be the case that if you're waging a war and you're not getting completely crushed the electorate (or at least the "undecided" voters") tends to rally around whoever happens to be in charge. And indeed I think it's fairly safe to say that most agree that Thatcher benefitted electorally from a strong response to the invasion. I should add that as a Scot I'm definitely not a fan of hers (you just grow up there knowing "Thatcher Bad") but I'm not quite at "put a stake through her heart and garlic round her neck"[0] :) [0] - https://twitter.com/halaljew/status/1294414600566382598 https://twitter.com/halaljew/status/1294414600566382598
- raspberry1337 4y ago
  Gulf war didn't save Senior Bush from the bad-economy, neither did the Iraq War help Tony Blair's popularity. It's a lot more complex than war-helps-current-leader, at least outside the US. It depends on the war and the context.
  - smcl 4y ago
    Fair point, these are actually great counterexamples
    - lostlogin 4y ago
      They are. That war was also unusual in that it was an attack on a country far away that wasn’t a threat to the US or UK, and there was little to be gained. It was a strange time.
gadders 4y ago
I think that was the reason for one of them, certainly. But then she and our armed forces did a tremendous job in reclaiming the Falklands from a fascist dictatorship.
raspberry1337 4y ago
Nothing in that article indicates that the war overshadowed her domestic policy, both contributed to her success.