Communist Ideology Failing, Thatcher Says

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said Friday that the West is witnessing “the failure of the Communist ideology and the meltdown of authoritarian regimes.”

In a broad-ranging speech after receiving the honorary “freedom” of the City of London, Thatcher said there were “great upheavals” in the Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland and China.

“We are witnessing what is perhaps the greatest change for many decades: the failure of the Communist ideology and the meltdown of authoritarian regimes,” she said.

“The attractions of democracy and free enterprise are ever more apparent, not only for the prosperity they create but because they give life dignity and meaning.

“Can anyone now doubt that the tide is turning in the struggle for the hearts and minds of people the world over?”

But Thatcher added: “Times of great change are times of great uncertainty.

“More than ever we shall need to keep our defenses strong and sure, in case the clouds of tyranny should gather and spread once more.”

The ceremony in the medieval Guildhall Building, site of civic administration in London for 800 years, was to mark Thatcher’s 10 years in office.

As an Honorary Freeman of the City, London’s financial district, Thatcher follows such former prime ministers as David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. The honor bestows a centuries-old right to herd sheep across London Bridge.