THE resignation of Sir Geoffrey Howe, Margaret Thatcher’s deputy prime minister, was not in itself a crisis. But it triggered one. Like a minor seismic shock it exposed incipient cracks: and the possibility of a mighty earthquake in the political powerhouse immediately brought both the ambitious and timorous scurrying into view.
The main challenger to Mrs. Thatcher, Michael Heseltine, who resigned three years ago from the cabinet, has been biding his time, waiting an opportunity to strike without incurring fatal charges of disloyalty. He still hesitated: but events acquired their own momentum, confronting him with a fearful choice. If he failed to run against her openly now, when so many of his supporters and her enemies were urging him on, he would appear indecisive, weak, even a laughing stock; the moment might pass irrevocably. But to challenge her unsuccessfully might also be the end of his carefully nurtured hopes. And suppose he won, suppose that he replaced Mrs. Thatcher in Downing Street—and then suppose the Conservatives lost the next election and he was blamed for splitting the party at a critical stage; in that case, his would be a very transitory moment of glory. It’s easy to see why he waited as long as possible to make up his mind.
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