poliphilo

Usually when a Prime Minister dies- full of years and wisdom- there are polite tributes and most people barely notice. Churchill was the exception and now Thatcher is another. With Churchill there was near universal adulation (maybe it was complete- in our household it certainly was.) With Thatcher the two halves of the nation she divided are doing their best to drive one another off the field with spitting anger on the one side and majestic contempt on the other.

Parliament has been recalled to pay tribute. Ed Miliband has instructed his lot to show deference and dignity- thereby masking and muffling what most of his natural supporters actually feel. If things go according to plan- as mandated from the top- there will be a display of unanimity that misrepresents the nation and allows Thatcher's heirs, on both sides of the House, to luxuriate in a self-basting, slow-browning glorification of the Governing Class.