Chris Hipkinswho played a leading role in the response of New Zealand to the pandemic COVID-19, is called to succeed the prime minister, jacinda ardernemerging as the only candidate nominated to lead the Labor Party after the leader’s resignation on Thursday.
“I am honored by the support that my colleagues have shown me,” Hipkins said at a press conference in Wellington today, following the conclusion of his nomination.
Hipkins, 44 years old and currently minister for police and responsible for education portfolios Y public servicewill still have to be formally endorsed by the Labor Party on Sunday to become its leader.
If so, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who surprisingly announced her resignation on Thursday, citing not having “more energy” to continue, he will hand in his resignation on February 7, at which time Hipkins will take over as prime minister, at least until elections called on October 14. Months before the elections, the latest polls indicate a certain advantage for the opposition National Party.
“I feel energetic and enthusiastic, I’m looking forward to start working“, indicated Hipkins, who also recognized that, currently, “we are going through some economic turmoil and we are going to have to overcome them”, given the rise in prices and the possibility that the country will enter a recession this year.
“But I firmly believe that we can come out of this better than when we entered. I am very optimistic about the future,” he added.
Hipkins was first elected MP in 2008, and one of his most high-profile positions came in November 2020when he was appointed minister for COVID-19, with New Zealand leading one of the world’s strictest border closures and control plans for more than two years, which had its detractors at home.
The politician, to whom Ardern has turned in moments of crisis, has praised the still Labor leader as a “incredible prime minister”, who has governed in a “calm and stable manner, something I hope to continue to do.” “We are different people, though, and I’m sure people will see it that way,” she added.
Source: Lasexta
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