jacinda ardern promised “relentless positivity” as New Zealand’s prime minister, but in announcing her unexpected resignation admitted that the intense demands of the position ended up wearing her down.
Ardern was elected prime minister in 2017 and in his tumultuous first term it faced the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand history, a deadly volcanic eruption and the covid-19 pandemic. Just 37 years old at the time, she became the youngest ruler since 1856 and a global icon of progressive politics.
Ardern broadly won a second term in 2020, But his popularity has waned amid growing mistrust of the government, a deteriorating economy and a rise in conservative opposition.
The stress became apparent in recent months, such as when Ardern showed a rare loss of composure when caught on a microphone calling an opposition politician an “arrogant jerk.”
“This has been the most rewarding five and a half years of my life, but there have also been challenges,” Ardern, 42, said Thursday. “I know what this job requires and I know I no longer have the energy to do it justice, it’s that simple,” he said.
Just 18 months in office, an armed white supremacist fired on two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers, killing 51 Muslims and wounding 40. His accurate and compassionate response to the hateful attack defined the image of the charismatic center-left leader around the world.
It also resonated worldwide when he wore a scarf to comfort the families of the victims of the shootings. Ardern was praised for her quick political response to the shootingincluding the adoption of gun law reforms and pressure for social media to tackle hate speech.
The New Zealand public supported her emphatically, electing her for a second three-year term in October 2020. His electoral proposal focused heavily on his government’s success in containing the coronavirus pandemic. Life in New Zealand in general returned to normal after a series of strict lockdowns.
“Jacindamania”
Ardern grew up in the interior of the North Island, where his father was a police officer. He says that the poverty he saw there shaped his belief. Although she was raised as a Mormon, she abandoned the faith in her youth because of that church’s stance against homosexuality.
After studying communications, Ardern began his political career in the cabinet of Prime Minister Helen Clark.before going to the UK to serve as an adviser to Tony Blair’s government.
She was elected to Parliament in 2008 and in March 2017 became Labor leader, although she assured then that she was not ambitious.
Ardern went from being what she called a “political nerd” to prime minister in a wave of “Jacindamania”, after becoming Labor leader seven weeks before the 2017 election.
A year later she became the second prime minister in the world to give birth while in office, after Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan in 1990. Her daughter Neve is due to start school this year.
After Christchurch, he again had to offer consolation to the country when the White Island volcano erupted, killing 21 people and severely burning dozens more.
During the pandemic, Ardern has consistently urged New Zealanders to be “kind”, calling to face the coronavirus as “a team of five million people”. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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