PICTURE: MOELETSI MABE In August 1981, John Hoskyns, head of the policy unit at 10 Downing Street, wrote an excoriating memo to his boss, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Titled "Your political survival", it is possibly the rudest note an official has ever written to a head of government."You lack management competence," reads the top of the first paragraph. "Your leadership style is wrong," reads the second. "You bully your weaker colleagues," Hoskyns explained. "You give little praise or credit, and you are too ready to blame others when things go wrong. The result is an unhappy ship. This demoralisation is hidden only from you… People are starting to speculate as to who might reunite the party … if you go."Hoskyns went on to insult Thatcher’s intelligence. "To be frank," he wrote, "I believe you fill your diary because it’s a good way to avoid having to do the unpleasant strategic thinking … which you don’t enjoy and which isn’t your forte."Reflecting on the memo years l...
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