A Global Political Star Led to Resignation

By Kishana K

One of the greatest serving prime ministers, a global icon for left-leaning politics and a key voice in women’s leadership, Jacinda Ardern, is quitting her role as New Zealand’s prime minister after serving six years in office. The shock announcement comes after her Labour Party faced a demanding path to re-election on October 14th. The question is why?

Ms Ardern, aged forty-two, became the youngest female head of the government in the world when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37. She led New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic, Christchurch Mosque shootings and the White Island volcanic eruption. She had choked up when she had described how six ‘challenging’ years in the job had taken a toll on her and that she had taken time to consider her future over the summer break. She stated that the past years had been the ‘most fulfilling’ years of her life but leading the country during a ‘crisis’ had been difficult. Although she was a political star globally, the polls suggest that she was increasingly unpopular at home. Defending this statement, Ms Ardern told the BBC that “[her] declining popularity was the price [her] government had paid for keeping people safe from Covid-19.”

However, the reaction to her announcement has been varied. One local from Auckland suggested Ms Ardern was ‘running away before getting thrown out’ due to the increased crime rates and rising living costs. For others, she is still known as ‘one of the greatest prime ministers in New Zealand’s history’. Ms Ardern hopes she will be seen “as someone who always tried to be kind” in the future by New Zealanders. She also hopes to “leave New Zealanders with a belief … [one] can be [their] own kind of leader one who knows when it’s time to go.”