The Iron Lady Redux

 

New Prime Minister Theresa May had an early test of her leadership abilities yesterday when handling her first Prime Minister’s Questions before British Parliament. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attempted to knock her down with leading several leading queries, the most notable of which focused on job insecurity and terrible bosses who lack self-awareness.

Madam Prime Minister turned it around on the embattled leftist leader with a withering response:

On today’s Conservatarians podcast, I quoted musician Scott Miller: “Strength is nice, but finesse is a necessity.” May understands well when an opponent requires a sledgehammer and when a stiletto will do.

Published in Foreign Policy, General
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  1. Chris Campion Coolidge
    Chris Campion
    @ChrisCampion

    Fantastic.

    Can I vote her in for President here?  We really, really need the help.

    • #1
  2. Locke On Member
    Locke On
    @LockeOn

    Hard to hear that without reverberations of Thatcher in the inner ear.  Let’s hope the UK got another good one.

    • #2
  3. Mike H Inactive
    Mike H
    @MikeH

    Did I miss it? Is she already PM?

    • #3
  4. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Mike H:Did I miss it? Is she already PM?

    She met with the Queen about a week or so ago, yes.

    • #4
  5. Jason Turner Member
    Jason Turner
    @JasonTurner

    I had some doubts about her before she became PM, but so far she has done an excellent job her performance in PMQ was brilliant, it’s too early to say whether she will be in Maggie’s league but the signs so far are very good.

    • #5
  6. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    I am very encouraged. I loved that she shut down the Climate Change department. Boris Johnson will be a GREAT Foreign Minister. She also gave Leadsom a leading cabinet position as well.

    • #6
  7. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    And, of course, I LOVE that May seems to be almost as pro-Trade as one can be. Free trade can transform Britain, making it the economic powerhouse of Europe.

    • #7
  8. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    iWe:And, of course, I LOVE that May seems to be almost as pro-Trade as one can be. Free trade can transform Britain, making it the economic powerhouse of Europe.

    Free trade is how the European Union originally sold itself. Like everything Progressive “nobody was talking about” a supernational bureaucracy until just before it became non-negotiable.

    • #8
  9. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Jon,

    Theresa scored a knock down in the very first round. I just love this girl.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #9
  10. Craig Inactive
    Craig
    @Craig

    Could we be seeing a 1980’s redux?  I am placing that on the longshot of Trump playing the role of Reagan to May’s Thatcher.

    • #10
  11. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Titanium Theresa, baby.

    • #11
  12. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    I wish there was this give and take in our House and Senate. After the Brexit vote a Labour Party member was complimenting an anti-leave demonstration that took place outside Parliament. A voice from the Conservative bench said, Yes, wasn’t it marvelous.

    • #12
  13. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Doug Watt:I wish there was this give and take in our House and Senate. After the Brexit vote a Labour Party member was complimenting an anti-leave demonstration that took place outside Parliament. A voice from the Conservative bench said, Yes, wasn’t it marvelous.

    Can you imagine Mitch McConnell forced to stand up and defend his principles?

    Can you imagine Mitch McConnell with principles?

    • #13
  14. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    Percival:

    Doug Watt:I wish there was this give and take in our House and Senate. After the Brexit vote a Labour Party member was complimenting an anti-leave demonstration that took place outside Parliament. A voice from the Conservative bench said, Yes, wasn’t it marvelous.

    Can you imagine Mitch McConnell forced to stand up and defend his principles?

    Can you imagine Mitch McConnell with principles?

    Unfortunately the give and take you see in Parliament will not happen here. Everyone in our House and Senate is referred to as my friend. The closest we came was when President Obama was called a liar in a State of the Union address. The remark was not very subtle but the reaction was priceless. Nancy Pelosi, as Dennis Miller put it, had the same look of surprise as a raccoon that has been caught in the beam of a flashlight while rummaging around in a garbage can. It was probably the Botox.

    • #14
  15. JustmeinAZ Member
    JustmeinAZ
    @JustmeinAZ

    What is it with women politicians and gigantic bead necklaces? Hillary wears them too but I suspect hers are to hide her wrinkly old neck. And Pelosi’s are real pearls.

    Ooops. Showing my mean girl side.

    • #15
  16. Stephen Bishop Inactive
    Stephen Bishop
    @StephenBishop

    Umbra Fractus:

    iWe:And, of course, I LOVE that May seems to be almost as pro-Trade as one can be. Free trade can transform Britain, making it the economic powerhouse of Europe.

    Free trade is how the European Union originally sold itself. Like everything Progressive “nobody was talking about” a supernational bureaucracy until just before it became non-negotiable.

    I agree they weren’t talking about it to the citizens but the elites were plotting.

    • #16
  17. Brian Clendinen Inactive
    Brian Clendinen
    @BrianClendinen

    I just love her mannerisms they are so expressive and add so much to her attack. Then again I love women who are expressive with their body language when they speak. Classy and transparent which I love.

    • #17
  18. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    My post “Two very different conservative views on new prime minister Theresa May”

    http://ricochet.com/two-very-different-conservative-views-on-new-prime-minister-theresa-may/

    • #18
  19. Adriana Harris Inactive
    Adriana Harris
    @AdrianaHarris

    Oh, I like her. At least I’ll have a head of state to admire for the near future, because there isn’t much the U.S. has to offer right now.

    • #19
  20. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Stephen Bishop:

    I agree they weren’t talking about it to the citizens but the elites were plotting.

    “Nobody’s talking about that,” is my current favorite Progressive cliche. It’s scary how often it pops up once you know to look for it, and a little distressing how often people of the right still fall for it.

    • #20
  21. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    How I hate progressivism. Now the government is supposed to do something about bad bosses?!!! All that flaming rubbish dressed up in moral vanity. “We care!!”

    Bollocks.

    I hope May gives Labour and friends everything they so richly deserve. Good and hard.

    • #21
  22. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Western Chauvinist:How I hate progressivism. Now the government is supposed to do something about bad bosses?!!! All that flaming rubbish dressed up in moral vanity. “We care!!”

    Yes. I used to be a good bit more moderate than I am now, and it was precisely the realization that they are never going to stop that pushed me rightward.

    • #22
  23. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Doug Watt: Unfortunately the give and take you see in Parliament will not happen here. Everyone in our House and Senate is referred to as my friend.

    Oh, they actually do that there too. Pretty sure Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Theresa May on her position and she thanked “my right honorable friend” for his congratulations before they got into it. It has nothing to do with the character of the politicians, who are pretty much like ours at bottom, and quite a lot to do with the system. The drama of the weekly PMQs sets it up. I can’t think of many American politicians who could hold up easily at the dispatch box — Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz come to mind.

    The Tory “establishment” is absolutely no better than the Republicans here. Their political system just now is giving them an edge: May has all power in her hands just at the moment, and thus the opportunity to deliver — and while conservatives like me have real concerns with her on some issues (religious liberty for one), she’s showing that she intends to deliver in spades. It’s as if Romney had won and proceeded to dismantle Obamacare exactly as promised.

    • #23
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