Good riddance to Harney and the rest of the Thatcherism fan club

MARGARET Thatcher has been out of office since the early 1990s, yet her imprint on Britain and Ireland has outlived her premiership by two decades.

Thatcherism’s fan club in Ireland — the “Progressive” Democrats and all who they influenced in both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – only lasted in office from the late 1980s until, well, this week.

The announcement that Mary Harney is to join the growing list of deserters from a sinking government signals the end of the physical presence of Thatcher’s children in government. Whether it marks the end of Irish Thatcherism is up to the electorate. We will get that chance on March 11.