Move to name Madrid square after Thatcher criticised as 'disrespectful'

Madrid will soon have its own tribute to Margaret Thatcher. From next week, a small plaza in the city, flanked by a five-star hotel and the headquarters of Banco Madrid, will be officially named after the former British prime minister.

The space has existed for decades but never had a name, said Fernando Martínez Vidal, a city councillor. On Monday, he will be joined by Madrid's mayor, Ana Botella, the Conservative MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, and Thatcher's son, Mark, in a short inauguration ceremony that will see the former Conservative party leader's name added to the Madrid map.

The decision to name a square in Madrid after Thatcher was an easy one, said Martínez Vidal. "Madrid is an open-minded city that has paid tribute to various foreign politicians," he said, pointing to streets and squares named after Dwight Eisenhower, Salvador Allende, Nelson Mandela and Yitzhak Rabin. "But all of them are men. Starting on Monday, we'll have a woman."

The square is located in the well-heeled district of Salamanca, a stone's throw from the Plaza de Colón, the city's emblematic monument to Christopher Columbus. "Some might point to Gibraltar and say that relations between Britain and Spain are not perfect, but you can't get a more central place than where this square is located," the People's party politician said.

The location of the square was carefully chosen, he noted. "Salamanca is the city's most conservative district in terms of voting habits," he said. "To give any place her name it had to be in a neighbourhood where it will be well protected by residents."

The idea of adding Thatcher's name to the Madrid map was brought forward last year by the conservative People's party, which holds an absolute majority of seats in the city. Championed by Botella, who praised Thatcher in her blog as a "pioneer" and "an inspiration", the idea was widely derided by the opposition.

Milagros Hernández, of the United Left, called the idea "disrespectful", asking why the city would choose to pay homage to someone who "embraced a policy of social and economic cutbacks", rather than recognise "the British miners, trade union members and the thousands of poor who were left behind during her 11 years in office".

Other councillors also questioned the link between Thatcher and the city. "Even though she was very influential in the 80s, it doesn't seem to me that she had any direct relationship with Madrid or Spain," said Patricia García of the centrist Union, Progress and Democracy party. Her colleague David Ortega characterised the idea as an attempt to politicise the city's streets.

While noting that Madrid has been governed by conservatives for more than two decades, Martínez Vidal defended the city's decision, arguing that it had little to do with ideology. "She met all of the requirements to give her this honour. She was a woman in a world of men. And that meant she had to work twice as hard to reach the level that she did," he said.

The Plaza de Margaret Thatcher is one of two spaces in the city that will carry the late politician's name. Last June, the regional government of Madrid, which is also led by the People's party, announced plans to name a public school in the district of Barajas after her.