"When you spoke within the old National Party (NP) ranks, United Nations resolutions and the hostility shown by the Soviet Union and others had no impact. But when you said, 'I must warn you, this is what President Reagan told me, this is what Mrs Thatcher told me, these are people who are well disposed towards us and if they say this we've got to change,' I could use their views to persuade the conservative sections within the NP to accept change."