The shocked resignation announcement of New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Ardern, the youngest world leader who was often seen as a star proponent of the centre-left ideology, announced her resignation on January 19, 2023.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, said that she would step down from her position as Prime Minister as she has “no more in the tank” to lead the country.
The decision to step down was taken upon completing two terms as prime minister. There will be a lot of discussion about the decision and the real reason for the resignation.
Politicians are human, and there is a limit for everything, and it's time to step down as I don’t have any more to give this country, said Jacinda Ardern.
New Zealand is going to polls on October 14, 2023. Jacinda Ardern said that she would not seek re-election and would come down no later than February 7.
After her resignation, there was no immediate announcement of a successor. The party will begin the process for selection soon, as per Ardern.
Ardern joined New Zealand Labour Party at the age of 18. She first entered parliament in 2008. In 2017, she became the MP for the Auckland electorate Mt Albert, and in August 2017, she became the Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader. She was the youngest Prime Minister of New Zealand.
She was mainly focused on issues of child poverty and environmental conservation in her campaign. Her critics pointed out her inexperience issue, but Ardern led her party as a central force.
After a few years of internal battles in the party, Ardern became the leader of the party, and the exhilaration around Jacinda was known as “Jacindamania”.
Jacinda brought newness to politics and was vocal about progressive issues. Being the first prime minister to have a child while in office and bringing her daughter to the UN, her views were articulate on mental issues, health, and gender won praise from centrist leaders elsewhere.
She faced the deadliest mass shooting during her first term in the country. The mass shooting of Christchurch mosque attacks led to the death of 51 people in 2019. Ardern, to stress unity, wore a hijab to comfort the families of those who died during that time.
This gave her a wave of approval in her re-election in 2020. Her pandemic handling by including some of the strictest measures globally gained her praise from all around the globe.
She received criticism from particularly conservatives and libertarian voters for continuing mask mandates. Also, the issues of rising inflation and crime have led to significant criticism as well.
Jacinda Ardern’s term as Prime Minister of New Zealand was challenging but she handled all issues to her best capacity and some of her actions got her praise and admiration from many across the Globe.
We wish her good luck with her future endeavours.
