'Thatcher is a figure of the past'

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, AUG. 21. ``The Mummy Returns'' was the title of a film until Lady Thatcher, in a refreshingly candid moment, invoked it to describe her own return to active political campaigning at the general election.

The title has stuck and supporters of Mr. Kenneth Clarke, contender for Tory leadership, today hurled it at her with glee after she called him a figure from the `past' as she threw her still considerable weight behind his rival, Mr. Ian Duncan Smith. They said her description of Mr. Clarke as a ``has- been'' and ``old-fashioned'' was rather rich coming from a `mummy'.

``Although Lady Thatcher is worshipped by some Tories, to others she is a figure of the past. Her backing will be seen by some as painting Mr. Duncan Smith in the same light,'' The Times said.

One Clarke supporter remarked that he found it amusing that a figure from what seemed like pre-history should be calling someone much younger a ``has-been''. Yet, he acknowledged that because she had been a very successful prime minister, having led the Tories to three successive victories, her influence still counted. ``If her name had been on the ballot maybe she would have won,'' he said. Others were not so sure, and some said that her interventions at crucial moments did more harm to the party than good as they reinforced its image as a party ``trapped in Thatcherite era''.

Mr. Clarke said nothing was more likely to turn young people and floating voters from the party than Lady Thatcher's intervention which came on the heels of a warning by a leading Tory figure that Tories were headed for disaster if they did not modernise and remained a prisoner of the old Conservative agenda. Mr. Duncan Smith, though much younger than Mr. Clarke, is widely seen as a chip of the Thatcher block and derisively called ``William Hague Mark II''. The outgoing Tory chief, Mr. Hague, too was a Thatcher `boy' and critics blame his faith in her policies for the party's rout in the elections.

Mr. Duncan Smith could well win the battle for Tory leadership with Lady Thatcher's moral support, but what about the `war' at the next elections? they asked. Even those who profoundly disagreed with Mr. Clarke's pro-Europe position acknowledged that head-to-head he was better equipped to lead the party to an election victory than Mr. Duncan Smith.

Lady Thatcher's support for Mr. Duncan Smith was expected, but observers were surprised by her withering on Mr. Clarke who, she said, was ``at odds with the majority of (party) members''. Even Mr. Duncan Smith sounded embarrassed saying he did not expect her to ``come out quite so clearly'' in his support. But he hastened to add that she was ``entitled to her views and opinions like anybody else''. ``I don't see why anybody should be horrified, because Lady Thatcher was a very successful prime minister.'' Her support came in a letter to The Daily Telegraph which has been rooting for Mr. Duncan Smith. She wrote: ``I simply do not understand how Ken could lead today's Conservative Party to anything other than disaster. He is at odds with the majority of its members on too many issues.'' She said she expected Mr. Clarke to accept some of the mistakes which in 1997 led the party to the ``greatest defeat in its history''. ``After all, he - not Iain Duncan Smith - was one of those who made them. . True that is the past. But it is a past in which Ken, with his old- fashioned views ....remains locked.'' She mocked at his claim of being more experienced than Mr. Smith and quoted Oscar Wilde that ``experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes''.

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