WORLD : German Slurs Embroil Thatcher
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher today parried charges that she personally inspired an unflattering memo on Germany by declaring her faith in Bonn as a staunch military and economic ally.
Thatcher fielded a volley of verbal jousts from the opposition in her first appearance in the lower house of Parliament since the Saturday resignation of Trade and Industry Secretary Nicholas Ridley for his outspoken remarks that Germany harbored designs to dominate Europe.
The Ridley embarrassment was quickly followed by the publication of a memo by Thatcher’s secretary on the conclusions of a high-level seminar that said Germany was a bully and egotistical, among other things.
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