JUST months before she was toppled in an internal coup d’etat, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher hoped her 1990 Good Friday Bermuda summit meeting with US President George H.W. Bush would help restore her prestige as a major player on the international stage and reassert her authority over an increasingly fractious Conservative Party.Thatcher, who held intensive talks with Bush at Government House on April 13, 1990, was anxious the Bermuda summit succeed because “hardly anything is going right at home” then US Ambassador to Britain Henry E. Catto, Jr. told the President in a recently declassified memo outlining the Prime Minister’s expectations for the meeting.

“(I) called on Thatcher’s adviser Charles Powell on April 10 and received a preview of Thatcher’s goals for Bermuda this weekend,” said Catto in a memorandum sent to the White House and US State Department on April 11, 1990 . “I will have a chance to follow up with her on the plane to Bermuda.

“Thatcher has been working recently to patch things up with her European partners, particularly Germany and France. (British Foreign Secretary) Douglas Hurd is in Moscow this week to cover the Soviet angle. She wants her time with you in Bermuda to demonstrate that the heart of her foreign policy — the close relationship with Washington — is also in good shape.”

Catto said Thatcher’s star was on the wane after 11 years at 10 Downing Street, both with the British public and a faction of increasingly vocal right-wing rebels within her Parliamentary ranks who were growing openly scornful of her leadership.

“A productive meeting with you would be a welcome tonic,” the Ambassador told the President. “Hardly anything is going right at home. She is in political trouble over the economy, a right wing group within the Tory party is rebelling against legislation to give British passports to some 225,000 Hong Kong citizens (and) a potentially serious leadership challenge is building in her own party.”

In fact she was forced from office in November, 1990 after former Cabinet colleague Michael Heseltine challenged her leadership and attracted sufficient support in the first round of voting to prolong the contest to a second ballot. Though she initially stated that she intended to contest the second ballot, Thatcher decided, after consulting with her Cabinet, to withdraw from the contest. She was succeeded by Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major when it became obvious Heseltine was too polarising a figure to become Prime Minister.

“The Labour Opposition is playing its cards just right and working hard to build the sort of structure that can withstand the pressures of a tough election campaign,” Catto said. “All this has put her more than 20 points back in the opinion polls. The slide isn’t irreversible but the climb back up keeps getting steeper.

“In these circumstances, the trappings of the Bermuda meeting assume importance, so the British are placing greater stock than usual in the pageantry of the event. They want this meeting to counteract incessant Press stories here that the Americans no longer care very much about Britain or Maggie Thatcher. Powell was pleased to hear our assurances that you valued the special relationship — now more than ever — and hoped for a successful meeting that demonstrated it.”

Catto said the British strategy for the Bermuda meeting was to highlight close US/UK consultation at a time of great change — the Berlin Wall, the most visible symbol of the Cold War, had been demolished the previous December and former Soviet satellites Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were all in the process of throwing off Moscow’s yoke. The Soviet Union itself, then in its protracted death throes, would expire just 18 months later.

“Thatcher will want to cover a range of issues (in Bermuda),” said Catto. “Her preoccupation is Europe — German reunification and (the Independence struggle of) Lithuania in particular.

“She also wants the summit to have some real beef. The cut she has in mind is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s nuclear stockpile, according to Powell. Powell told (me) that Thatcher wants the ‘hard story’ of your meeting to be a statement that you both envisage ‘some further reduction of the nuclear stockpile in Europe’ —”

While Thatcher believed she could boost her domestic political support if the US downsized its military presence in Europe during the Cold War’s dying days, the Prime Minister was adamant Moscow not interpret any such troop reductions as a sign Washington was withdrawing from the scene altogether.

“— Thatcher has been very forceful in stating that America must remain in Europe,” Catto told President Bush. “She hopes the discussions in Bermuda will also make crystal clear a unified Germany will remain in NATO — She will make a point of emphasising to the American Press the need for NATO and American military involvement in Europe.”

The British Prime Minister was also concerned with the deteriorating situation in Lithuania. Lithuania had declared its Independence from Moscow on March 11, the first Soviet Republic to do so, and Soviet forces stationed in the Baltic country were trying to suppress this secession. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev was under intense pressure from both Communist Party hardliners and the military to crack down on Lithuanian nationalists since the country — unlike Moscow’s Eastern European satellites — was viewed as an integral part of Soviet territory rather than a vassal state.

“She doubtless will want some assurance that a setback in Lithuania will not derail the East/West process (Powell specifically asked if a Soviet crackdown would compel us to cancel the summit),” said Catto. “Powell described Thatcher’s latest phone conversation with Gorbachev as alarming. Gorbachev sounded ‘like a man whose father had just died’ and three times evaded Thatcher’s efforts to elicit a commitment against the use of force (in Lithuania).”

Prior to his departure for Bermuda from Andrews Air Force, Maryland aboard Air Force One early on the morning of April 13 — Good Friday — President Bush shared his views on the Government House meeting with the White House Press corps in an off-the-record exchange.

A uniquely Bermudian photo opportunity for the international media covering the talks had been planned for the grounds of Government House: the President and Thatcher were going to participate in the Bermuda Good Friday tradition — kite flying

“Have you ever flown a kite before?” one journalist asked the President.

“Yes,” said Bush. “I have a large inventory of kites.”

“You do?” responded the incredulous journalist.

“I’m one of the better kite flyers (in Washington),” joked the President. “And I’m often told to go fly my kite. And I have a bunch of them.”

Another reporter suggested Mrs. Thatcher seemed a little leery of the event.

“Of the kite-flying?” said the President. “It’s a tradition down here.”

“She’s afraid that it might be seen as frivolous on her part,” answered the reporter.

“It’ll loosen her up a little, won’t it?” quipped United Press International White House correspondent Helen Thomas to general laughter from the rest of the reporters — and the President

“Helen!” he mock-scolded her.

In a more serious vein, President Bush told the media the Bermuda meeting was part of an ongoing series of talks between Western Allies who were attempting to keep abreast of the radical ongoing developments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

“(We’re having) a continued series of consultations. First, we had the Canadians, about three hours of talks. We’ll probably have a little more here (in Bermuda),” he said. “Next week, Francois Mitterrand (President of France). And it is extremely important that close allies stay in close touch during these times of dramatic change in Europe.

“So, I would think a lot of it will be about Europe, post-German unification Europe, the present standing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as the Soviet Union and Western Europe. So, I think that will probably dominate the (Bermuda) conversations.”

The President was asked if he believed the British Prime Minister was “on the same wavelength” as him in terms of handling the then ongoing implosion of the Soviet Empire.

“Yes. I think we’re very close together on our assessment of the changes that are taking place inside the Soviet Union,” said President Bush. “But this is something I want to find out. And in this kind of a meeting, why, you can get into the nuances, and if there are differences, talk about them. And there may be some.

The President said aside from America’s longstanding “special relationship” with the UK he had a deep personal connection with Thatcher.

Continued from Page 2<@$p>"I feel I have a very frank and open relationship with Margaret Thatcher, for whom I have tremendous respect," he said. "When I was Vice President (between 1981 and 1989) she accorded me many courtesies, which included frank discussions at 10 Downing and over here at the Vice President's House, and then that's continued (after he became President in 1989)."

The President told the reporters Mrs. Thatcher also had an extraordinary bond with Gorbachev — she had famously identified him as a "man with whom we can do business" in 1985 — and had a unique insight to the pressures he was facing from domestic opponents in the Kremlin and Red Army,

"We cannot read the tea leaves with total clarity when it comes to pressures inside the Kremlin," said President Bush. "(But) I think she has some good judgment on that. Mr. Hurd is just back from — I believe he's back, her Foreign Minister — and will have talked to high Soviet leaders, has talked to them. And so, she'll have a good input on (the Soviet suituatrion). She has a very clear view of the realities of the world. That's a good subject for us to talk about."

At the end of the informal exchange with reporters, President Bush was asked if the threat of rainstorms in Bermuda would dissuade him from from playing golf while he was on the island.

" No," said President Bush. "If it rains, I'm going to play. I'm going to play golf.

"We were afraid of that," responded one journalist as other members of the Press corps — who would have to cover the Presidential game planned for the Mid Ocean Club course even in the event of a downpour — grumbled and laughed.

In fact, the President had taken great pains to ensure he would not only get in 18 holes on Saturday, April 14 but also enjoy some downtime with Bermuda Premier Sir John Swan, a longtime friend and confidante. Bush had first met Sir John as Vice-President in the mid-1980s when the Premier was lobbying the Ronald Reagan White House to support the protracted negotiations which eventually resulted in the 1988 US Bermuda Tax Treaty. Bush and Sir John established an immediate rapport that continues to this day — the 41st President visited the former Premier as recently as April, 2005.

In the days leading up to the Bermuda summit, Bush — on green White House notepad paper — wrote a memorandum to National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft: "On Sat. April 14 after our Friday business with P(rime). M(inister). Thatcher is done I would like to do 2 things 1. Have 18 holes of golf. 2. Spend some quiet private time with Premier John Swan and wife Jackie. Swan suggested an early supper at his home Saturday. I am very interested in (this)."

But before Bush could enjoy any leisure time golfing and dining with the Swans, he and Thatcher spent four hours discussing US/UK cooperation on a wide variety of international issues — and then jointly addressed the Press on the outcome of their talks in the grounds of Government House.

"I'm very grateful to the President for coming to Bermuda for these talks, and we've had a very full and useful discussion," said Thatcher. "— We've discussed just about everything, and I think we agree on just about everything.

"We both attach the greatest possible importance to preserving NATO as the heart of the West's defence and to keeping American forces and their nuclear weapons in Europe. We're both clear that united Germany should be part of NATO. We'll be happy to see NATO play a bigger political role within the Atlantic community.

"—We also, of course, discussed developments over Lithuania and are very much agreed that this is a problem which must be worked out by dialogue and discussion. We also covered a very large number of regional issues —

"So, very good talks, conducted in a very friendly atmosphere, with a very wide measure of agreement. Just as you would expect."

President Bush concurred with the Prime Minister's assessment of the summit and also thanked his Bermuda hosts for providing the venue.

"Thank you, Prime Minister," he said. "And first may I thank you and the Governor (Desmond) and the Premier (John W. Swan])of Bermuda for your wonderful hospitality. It's a pleasure to be here, not least because the Prime Minister and I have had this opportunity to sit down and consult frankly and freely and openly, at length about recent developments and what the future holds for Europe.

"Naturally, we talked about the prospects of a unified Germany. We both welcome the fulfilment of the deepest aspirations of the German people to end their artificial separation. Both of our governments have supported the unification of Germany for more than 40 years, and we are glad that it is finally coming to pass in peace and in freedom."

"— And we also had a good exchange about the situation in the Soviet Union and Lithuania. We agree that these issues must be dealt with through dialogue so that the Lithuanian people's right to self-determination can be realised."

That night President Bush and Mrs. Thatcher attended a gala dinner at Camden, the Premier's official residence in the Botanical Gardens, hosted by Sir John and Lady Swan.

In her post-dinner remarks, the Prime Minister emphasised Britain's longstanding "special relationship" with Bermuda — and praised Sir John's efforts to revive the tradition of using the island as a mid-Atlantic site for US/UK summit meetings.

"At last I've achieved my ambition of making a proper visit to Bermuda! And it has been well worth waiting for," she said. "Thank you for the very warm welcome which I have received and for the kind words in your speech, Sir John.

"It's ones oldest friends whom one appreciates most and that is undoubtedly true of Britain and Bermuda. We go back a very long way together, almost 400 years in fact. I am one of the greatest admirers of the Royal Navy, but I do have to say that, as I travel the world, I constantly find myself visiting countries where the British first arrived as a result of a shipwreck — and Bermuda is no exception.

"Mr. Premier, Britain and Bermuda have had the closest possible links throughout those centuries. We have the two oldest parliaments in the world, and that really means something in today's world where we see parliamentary democracy and the rule of law extending to ever more countries-both in Eastern Europe but also in this hemisphere. Britain and Bermuda are fortunate that they have enjoyed stable parliamentary government for so long. It is a great gift and a great source of strength, and we can both be proud of it.

"And may I say what a privilege it was today to meet with your Cabinet and have such a very full and lively discussion, which made clear — if that were necessary — how very much Bermuda takes an interest and feels involved in all the great world issues.

"You have built a very successful country by your efforts and one which is very widely respected. And may I pay particular tribute to your Premier, Sir John Swan. He has been a tower of strength to Bermuda, not just in your economic success but because of the work he does as an ambassador for Bermuda worldwide. He is very well-known internationally and I know what a close and good friend he is to President Bush."

Thatcher said following the Government House summit she had spent the rest of Good Friday afternoon touring Bermudas and had noted the island's achievements — and been briefed on "very impressive" plans for future development.

"We all remember the terrible destruction done by Hurricane Emily in 1987 and the marvellous way in which Bermudians rallied round to rebuild and repair the damage, with some help too from your friends," she said.

"I am sure that the opportunities for Bermuda will continue to grow, particularly when we achieve a single market in Europe, which we hope will be in 1992. We shall be ready to give Bermuda every help and advice with that. It is very important with your great financial skills that you should have free access to Europe's financial markets.

Thatcher noted Bermuda had been host on four occasions to meetings between American Presidents and British Prime Ministers, saying the island was a natural place for two great friends and allies to come together.

"No one who visits here can doubt that Bermuda has a great future, as an island of stability and prosperity in a fast changing world, under the strong leadership of your Premier," said Thatcher. "May I ask you all to join me in a toast to that future, to the happiness and success of the people of Bermuda, to Sir John and Lady Swan and to the continuing close links between Britain and Bermuda."