She was also the most divisive British prime minister of modern times, admired and reviled in equal measure, owing as much to the self-righteous way she pursued her policies as to the policies themselves. She rightly described herself as a “conviction politician.”
她也是现代以来英国最有争议的首相，崇拜者和憎恨者等量齐观，这既是拜她的自负路线所赐，也是因为政策本身。她自称“信念政治家”（conviction politician），这倒名副其实。信念是一种不容置疑的既定观念。她从不屈尊于安慰，而是把政界分为“我们”和“他们”。“犯错误，就有可能获得真理，”在其入主唐宁街十号时，她引用了亚西西的圣方济各（Saint Francis of Assisi）的名言。