CHURCHILL: CONTROVERSIAL POLITICIAN OF THE 20th CENTURY

By Professor JR Monroy

Winston S. Churchill will be remembered forever, as one of the most exiting political personalities of the past century, why? Because of his polemic and exuberance political attitudes, personal reactions as Member of the British Parliament, where he started his career as a young Liberal. I would like to make a short analysis, how Churchill's political career was in many ways conditioned by social, cultural, economic, and geo-political phenomenon’s, influencing its political evolution and conditioning his political thinking, its changes of mind, in controversy with the British political establishment.?

Retrospectively, his brilliant and popular career was coincident with the prosperous decades of Queen Victoria reign, its expansion which consolidate the British influence around the world, in Africa, Far East, etc. Winston began his political career seating in Parliament within the liberal Party members. In fact, young idealist, who with experience in battle, attempting to make a personal interpretation, how the British Empire's should maintain its leadership in Europe and his colonial dominions.?

His brilliant speeches in 1900 to 1914, covering a time of preparation to one of the European bloodiest wars, a rivalry between The German Kaiser's absolutism and a libertarian British Monarchy, which Winston defended unconditionally against the equalitarian ideas of socialist and trade unionists, who still did not make serious reflexions about the New Soviet Republic of 1917 with its own limitations and historical contradictions, i.e. territorial expansion in Europe, Asia, elitism politico bureaucracy, etc.?

Moreover, it was his young impetus, his personal knowledge of the German imperial rivalry with Britain that pushed him to take responsibilities in government in 1917 as Minister of War, experiencing several months the difficulties to supersede a general strategy to defeat a strong enemy. It was the time when the British economy started a process of weakness, although an international campaign to organise a contra offensive in the Western Front to end the conflict in Europe. Finally, his advocacy and admiration for America, ended the dilemma of victory, he was supporters of an Atlantic alliance to defeat and conclude in glory the triumph of France and Britain in the Great War. Unfortunately, the final War Peace settlement in 1919 in Paris sadly, as it was recognised by John Maynard Keynes, brought misery and revanchism to Central Europe and Russia.

In the coming years, Winston partisans’ ideals were confronted by the rivalries between political elites affiliated in both sides of the House of Commons, however, his personal impetus and his intellectual talent - after the 1930's Great Depression- alerted Parliament about Germany rearmament, Hitler's ambitious, and the existence of a totalitarian party. His speeches in Parliament at that time were not considered relevant until 1st October 1938 when, Chamberlain returning to London after his meeting with Hitler at Munich signing a paper saying that Britain and Germany would never again go to war. The coming months were decisive and demonstrated that Hitler's plans were to invade neighbour nations as it occurred until 1945.

Conversely, Winston glorious years were 1939-1945, when he had the opportunity to demonstrate his intellectual power, political expertise and military knowledge taken the responsibility to leading its government and British People to a successful five years’ war against strong Hitler forces, who menaced to invade the British Islands. During this time, his strategy was to united forces against a commune enemy, in addition, the most important political move was to persuade Franklin D. Roosevelt, its government and US Congress to prioritise that Europe should be liberated first and Imperial Japan later, including in a coalition with Joseph Stalin's Red Army to shorter the war years in Europe. Undoubtedly, Winston S. Churchill became an international figure regarding the planning and general strategy of the Allied Forces in Africa, Mediterranean operations and in the final battle to liberated Western Europe from the Nazi-Germany.?

It is complex to delimit the time of the sunset off a leader such as Winston S. Churchill because his existence is pro-founded marked by transcendental episodes of the evolution of the British people which was in symbiosis with global economic and social changes, all of them, influencing at that time the course of the history in Europe and in the rest of the world. However, Winston, alerted the world, he tried to teach a new generation of politicians to preserve peace. What is more, his ambitious was a united Europe, to avoid again a global catastrophe. Winston's messages are still valid and are a solid brick to build a wall, to protect democracy, people liberties and nation’s independence.

Author Rights Reserved. LACCS-UK (2023).