Responsible Leadership

Responsible Leadership

Margaret Thatcher:

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925 and was the prime minister of England for about 11 years, that is from 1979 to 1990 and became the first ever woman to have such a position in the political history of England. Her focus was more towards economic growth to give her country more of a competitive stance and was at times accused of having an autocratic leadership style. In the 1970’s, class based tensions arouse with declining economic competitiveness striving and leading to economic downfall (Hellman and Kesselman 44).

No party was able to avoid the economic turmoil especially during the ‘winter of discontent’ in lieu of strikes of 1978 – 79. She later won the leadership of the conservative party in 1975 and wasted no time and implemented some bold steps and initiatives to revive the position of the country. She happens to be the only prime minister of the twentieth century to have been elected for so long and never lost a general election. Tony Blair often gets to be compared with Ms. Thatcher for such leadership capabilities (Buckley 157). She is admired till this date of facilitating a shift from the orthodox ruling style and moving away from the old party ideology.

She succeeded Edward Heath to bring about a positive political environment and a triggered a change to the economy which is something the Labor Party under Tony Blair’s regime followed which is precisely put as the ‘Thatcherlite programs’.  Her leadership capabilities no doubt brought about a turning point to governance, however, towards the commencement of 1981, she faced a divided cabinet, rising unemployment and the worst inflation of her time. There were three developments that saved much of the political regime, namely, ‘The Falklands War’ when Thatcher sent task force to the South Atlantic Islands to restore British Sovereignty and gain back control, ‘Downsizing the Wets’ (those who were not in favor of her policies) and ‘recovering the economy’. Throughout her career in the parliament, she voted in favor of liberal abortion laws which might be acceptable today and would bring about an opposing response.

Her overall policies have brought about a positive trickledown effect for the entire nation that after effects of which are even witnessed today.

Bill Clinton:

Bill Clinton, the former president of the United States of America is renowned for his democratic stance in leadership, however, witnessed a downfall in his career with a serious scandal which is something history remembers him for.

Like Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela, Clinton is still remembered as one of the charismatic leaders of all times to have brought nations together which might have been at the verge of war, such as, was the case of Kashmir issue that experts say could have been resolved, had he stayed in the cabinet for an extended political career (Glanz 25).

As a leader he had much of an assertive nature which facilitated an intriguing match and contrast to Reagan and Bush regimes.  Just like leaders are a reflection of people’s wants and perceptions, Clinton had been a mirror that reflected and showcased change in the nation, something which is most often emphasized upon today, however, the real change was brought about during his regime. Similarly, Reagan responded to that nation that needed support after the Watergate incident, continuing recession and the Vietnam War.

Likewise, the Clinton style was the authorization facilitated by his voters. Therefore, he was the one who dealt aggressively in bringing about positive reforms to manage health care crisis, improve environment and address the problems of each and every American, many believe the scandal to be a conspiracy against his political career.

He used his communication skills to quite an extent to release tensions between nations, such as India and Pakistan who have been rivals since birth, hence, the local reforms as well as international ones brought about a positive change globally.

Work Cited

Buckley, Stephen. The Prime Minister and Cabinet. Edinburgh University Press, 2006. Print.

Glanz, Jeffery. Finding your Leadership Style; A Guide for Educators. ASCD Publishers, 2002. Print.

Kesselman, Mark and Stephen Hellman. European Politics in Transition. Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.