Many young soldiers hadn’t heard of the islands. CWhen they received orders for war, they believed they must go to Scotland as there is a village named the same. In reality, Margaret Thatcher sent her troops to an outpost territory more than 13,000 km from London. The Atlantic archipelago was taken by the Argentines. The British prime minister knew that she had to act immediately. This would have been the ultimate defeat of British politics after the war, and the last blow for a country losing diplomatic and economic positions.
This Saturday marks the forty-eighth anniversary of the Falklands War. It was a conflict that claimed the lives of 640 Argentines as well as 255 Britons. The event still resonates strongly today in the United Kingdom, particularly among conservatives. Thatcher was once a leader, but her ranks were unable to question her leadership due to the high level of unemployment at the time. She became the Iron Lady. She could not show weakness to the USSR at the international level and the battle against the Eastern bloc was an ideal platform to display her strength in the middle of the cold war. Ultimately, the conflict entrenched the idea of politics as a Manichaean contest of resolution versus appeasement, freedom versus oppression, a binomial now reincarnated in Ukraine.
Leona Roberts, member of the Falklands Legislative assembly, says that she feels tremendous empathy for the Ukrainian people. “I am a sixth generation islander, but my family arrived when there was not even an indigenous population. We created the country from nothing. We have no right to choose our future. ”, She assures in full commemorative events that take place these days in London.
Many feel that the celebrations are inappropriate in light of the current geopolitical situation. Although Tom Herring, who was 31 years old when he was sent to the Falklands as a sergeant in the Third Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, stresses that “it is not about celebrating the war itself, but about paying tribute to the fallen and remembering what happened to the new generations, so that they learn lessons and do not repeat the same mistakes”. “The feeling I have when I see the images of everything that is happening in Ukraine is one of helplessness because the beginning of the battles are always the same. He is often a desperate leader, who does whatever he can to boost his popularity. It was the same with the Argentine leaders. I believe that this is what Putin is doing. I don’t like to talk about politics. But if unemployment is high, inflation goes up… you know, the leaders try to divert attention elsewhere, ”he clarifies.
Thatcher’s victory at the 1983 election in the United Kingdom was not solely due the war. She assisted a weak opposition and a recovering economic economy. It would have been hard for her to win with such a large majority without the “Falklands” factor.
Another generation emerged, which was more proud to be patriotic. Many people believed that the UK should have joined the European Economic Community, which was then in 1973. The seeds for the formation of the UK Independence Party were planted after the war. Nigel Farage, who was the leader of the party, was key to the victory in Brexit.
The current generation of politicians was affected by the war. Farage was 17 when the conflict broke out. Boris Johnson, who is currently Prime Minister, was also 17 years old at the time. It was a war, just like Thatcher, that has brought the Tory leader out of his grave. If the Russian invasion had been started a week later, he might have been consumed sooner by the Partygate scandal in which Downing Street was full lockdown.