Unpopularity? Just launch a war!

    by MoleLocus

    8 Comments

    1. **Context:** Thatcher was elected Prime MInister of United Kingdom in 1979 with a modest majority of 21 seats. By march of 1982 the conservative party had a dogshit low approve rate and could sent the government towards Labour or the Liberal Party in the 1983 General Election…until the argentine military dictatorship decided to invade the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas in April.

      The reason was simple: since Argentina was suffering from an economic crisis just like every single latinamerican country in 1982 (Mexico needed call a debt moratorium in August, for example), the dictatorship tried the oldest trick in the book to stay popular: a war! If you are in a war, everyone could jump in a national pride and forget everything bad that are currenty going.

      The problem is that the military forces are too unbalanced and Britanic forces trounced the Argentinians in a 10 week war. Thatcher’s popularity soared as the military dictatorship plummet.

      By 1983 the conservatives won the general election while Argentina started their redemocratization process with the election of Raul Afonsin and the latter Trial of the Juntas.

    2. xxwarlorddarkdoomxx on

      I mean it was literally the Argentines that launched the war in the first place. If Thatcher & her government chose not to respond it certainly would have humiliated Britain and destroyed them politically.

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