Index Investing News
Sunday, May 25, 2025
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Index Investing News
No Result
View All Result

Jacinda Ardern’s resignation speaks volumes about New Zealand politics

by Index Investing News
January 21, 2023
in World
Reading Time: 16 mins read
A A
0
Home World
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


After nearly six years leading New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern’s tenure as prime minister will come to an end February 7, as her Labour Party dips in the polls and the country appears poised for a recession.

It’s also the end of at least one phase of her international prominence. Ardern didn’t become famous because of New Zealand’s primacy in the international order, but rather because of who she was, and her specific responses to the national and international catastrophes that defined her tenure. She was celebrated for her leadership through a white supremacist mass shooting at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, and through the Covid-19 crisis — two moments that put her in stark contrast to bombastic, autocratic leaders like former US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, in addition to making her a symbol for young women in leadership.

Citing burnout after five and a half years in office, Ardern announced Thursday that she would step down prior to the end of her term and wouldn’t seek reelection. “I know there will be much discussion in the aftermath of this decision as to what the so-called ‘real’ reason was,” she told a news conference Thursday. “The only interesting angle you will find is that after going on six years of some big challenges, that I am human.”

Ardern was not the first woman prime minister in New Zealand’s history, but was the youngest ever PM and gave birth while in office, pushing her further into the international spotlight as a young, feminist leader at a time — at least in many Western countries and the US in particular — when older men seemed to retain their grip on power despite social progress.

But domestic politics, not international acclaim, determine a country’s leadership within a democracy, and Ardern’s Labour Party has plummeted in the polls as the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis sets in. New Zealand’s post-Covid economy is pointed toward a recession, and child poverty — one of Ardern’s causes — continues to rise, bringing about dissatisfaction from both the left and the right.

By every conceivable metric, Ardern met the moment during the two major crises that defined her administration, and her gifts for communication, empathy, and collaboration were well-suited to those crises. She remains popular within the Labour Party and was, until recently, more popular than the overall party in public opinion polling. However, as economic circumstances change and New Zealanders are eager to move on from Covid-19, Ardern’s counterpart in the conservative National Party, Christopher Luxon, has been gaining ground in the polls, indicating that the majority Labour won in 2020 could come to an end in October, when Ardern has called for elections.

Though Ardern’s announcement caught international observers by surprise, it was perhaps less of a shock to New Zealanders, Kathy Smits, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, told Vox. “The historical example that really comes to my mind, and to a lot of people’s minds, is in Britain after the war — [Winston] Churchill was voted out in 1945. He led Britain through the war and was an incredibly popular prime minister, and yet people were ready for a change,” she said. “I think in this environment, there’s something kind of similar going on there.”

Like many countries around the world, New Zealand is ready for a change

Ardern rightly won international plaudits for her response to the 2019 shootings at the Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Center in Christchurch, which killed 51 people. The shooter was an avowed neo-Nazi and white nationalist who used semiautomatic weapons to carry out the slaughter. Ardern immediately connected to the Muslim community and committed the government to paying funeral costs for victims. Her decisive but emotional and empathetic response projected her onto the international stage early in her leadership; her proposal shortly after the shooting to ban semiautomatic weapons, too, demonstrated her ability to act boldly in the public interest.

That was in particularly stark contrast to the US which, despite consistent mass shootings, has largely failed to enact meaningful policy change, barring a bill of tailored reforms passed last year.

“The thing that Jacinda is really, really great about is communication — kind of the symbolic dimensions of leadership, bringing people together. She’s really good at that,” Smits said.

But as important as Ardern’s global profile is, there’s no getting around the hard facts of domestic democratic politics. Inflation continues to batter economies across the globe; in New Zealand, that’s playing out in particular in the housing market. Many New Zealanders make their income through real estate — owning and renting properties. But skyrocketing housing prices, Smits explained, combined with high interest rates, have crippled that sector of New Zealand’s economy and helped push the country toward a recession. It’s also squeezed the housing market, making affordable housing difficult for many New Zealanders to find.

Ardern also failed to make significant headway on child poverty in New Zealand, which is among the highest in the Western world. “It’s really at quite shocking levels,” Smits said, particularly among Māori and Pacific populations. Though Ardern’s administration managed to decrease the percentage of children in poverty marginally during her tenure, critics argue that the government didn’t go nearly far enough, especially given that it was one of her major policy issues.

Furthermore, New Zealand has a fairly low tax rate, despite that taxes or some form of income are needed to fund social programs like the kinds that would help alleviate childhood poverty. But Ardern’s party refused to implement capital gains taxes on income — with Ardern saying that such a tax hike would never occur under her leadership.

Those domestic issues have made Labour vulnerable from both the right and the left; more progressive politicians and voters are disappointed with the party’s inability to make real and significant headway on social issues — in part because the government refused to take necessary measures to raise money that would support social programs, Smits said.

But perhaps more than a defeat for Labour, the next elections could be more of a return to form for New Zealand’s Parliament, which operates on a mixed member proportional system. That means any one party is unlikely to get a clear, overwhelming majority of seats, requiring coalition government.

And after several years of crisis within the National Party, opposition leader Christopher Luxon seems to have strengthened his party’s position sufficiently to pull in some Labour defectors, Smits said, although it’s too early to tell what the outcome of the next election will be.

It’s not just New Zealand that’s ready for a change; Brazil’s Bolsonaro was ousted by former President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva last year. In Italy, the far-right Giorgia Meloni replaced technocratic Prime Minister Mario Draghi last year, and in 2021 longtime German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped down after 16 years in power.

Ardern’s impact is significant and will likely outweigh her government’s inadequacies

Western feminists have embraced Ardern, and rightly so, as a politician who balances power with compassion; a woman who had a baby while also guiding her country through some of the most challenging years in recent memory.

Leaders like Hillary Clinton, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard tweeted in support of Ardern and the impact of her time in office, with Gillard saying, “Her example has been a shining light to many, especially women.”

.@jacindaardern showed the world a new style of leadership by deciding to foreground kindness and empathy. Her example has been a shining light to many, especially women. I congratulate her on all she has achieved to date and wish her well in this next phase of her life.

— Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) January 19, 2023

Ardern’s symbolic impact, in addition to her leadership, will likely be a major part of her legacy. Ardern took her child, Neve, to a United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2018, when she was just three months old — making history in the process. She was the first elected leader to give birth in office since Benazir Bhutto did the same in 1990, and only the second ever to do so.

Ardern’s style, too, is a marked shift not only from the machismo of autocratic leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro, but the often-combative nature of politics generally, as Richard Shaw, a politics professor at Massey University in New Zealand, told NBC Thursday.

“I think what she offered to the world actually was a model for doing democratic politics that does not rely upon abusing other people,” Shaw said. “She never uses the term ‘enemy’ to describe anybody.”

Though it’s probably not the driving force behind her resignation, Shaw said, that particular leadership style had also fixated “the political right, and the misogynists in particular, and the anti-vaxxers and the fringe dwellers in our political community” on Ardern.

It’s impossible to know just what Ardern’s legacy will be, but her power as a symbol not just of a successful leader — who is also a woman and a mother — had arguably the same effect as former President Barack Obama’s election as America’s first Black president. Both set a new standard for progress, even if their domestic policies didn’t live up to progressive ideals. But more than just the fact of her being a woman, a mother, and a world leader, she presented a compelling model of how leaders could behave and make decisions, even difficult ones, with clarity and compassion.

Yes, I’ll give $120/year

Yes, I’ll give $120/year


We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and


Google Pay. You can also contribute via





Source link

Tags: ArdernsJacindapoliticsresignationspeaksvolumesZealand
ShareTweetShareShare
Previous Post

LRE® on Tour – January 20, 2023

Next Post

Euro regains ground against dollar as global economic outlook improves

Related Posts

Cannes Movie Competition: Palme d’Or awarded to Iranian filmmaker

Cannes Movie Competition: Palme d’Or awarded to Iranian filmmaker

by Index Investing News
May 25, 2025
0

he closing ceremony acquired underway Saturday after a serious energy outage struck southeastern France as a consequence of what police...

9 kids of a health care provider amongst 79 individuals killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza

9 kids of a health care provider amongst 79 individuals killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza

by Index Investing News
May 25, 2025
0

NINE kids of a health care provider have been amongst 79 individuals to die in an Israeli air strike.Dr Alaa...

Arson suspected as energy outage in France disrupts last day of Cannes Movie Competition

Arson suspected as energy outage in France disrupts last day of Cannes Movie Competition

by Index Investing News
May 24, 2025
0

CANNES, France -- French authorities consider arson could have performed a task in an influence outage Saturday in southeast France...

Paris arrested Telegram founder to meddle in Romanian election — Moscow — RT World Information

Paris arrested Telegram founder to meddle in Romanian election — Moscow — RT World Information

by Index Investing News
May 24, 2025
0

Pavel Durov has stated that French intelligence tried to censor conservatives on the platform throughout election marketing campaign season Russian...

How Canada’s relationship with Israel went from ‘greatest buddy’ to breakdown

How Canada’s relationship with Israel went from ‘greatest buddy’ to breakdown

by Index Investing News
May 24, 2025
0

Warning: This story contains an archival picture of lifeless our bodies.Canada's relationship with Israel has travelled a good distance since...

Next Post
Euro regains ground against dollar as global economic outlook improves

Euro regains ground against dollar as global economic outlook improves

Hrithik Roshan Talks ‘Vikram Vedha’ & His Desire To “Break The Rules” – Deadline

Hrithik Roshan Talks ‘Vikram Vedha’ & His Desire To “Break The Rules” – Deadline

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED

Is Financial Fear Stopping You from Living the Life You Dream Of?

Is Financial Fear Stopping You from Living the Life You Dream Of?

February 3, 2023
Is the Republican Occasion nonetheless worthy of its title? –
Las Vegas Solar Information

Is the Republican Occasion nonetheless worthy of its title? – Las Vegas Solar Information

November 23, 2024
Is TipRanks Reliable? Is It Worth It?

Is TipRanks Reliable? Is It Worth It?

December 20, 2023
Making ,000/Month Money Stream from ONE Rental and ONE Enterprise in ONE 12 months

Making $13,000/Month Money Stream from ONE Rental and ONE Enterprise in ONE 12 months

April 21, 2025
‘Thanks in your service’: USAID will get Musk’d as Trump administration places complete international workforce on depart

‘Thanks in your service’: USAID will get Musk’d as Trump administration places complete international workforce on depart

February 5, 2025
EVS Broadcast Equipment SA (EVSBY) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

EVS Broadcast Equipment SA (EVSBY) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

August 18, 2023
Newcastle: Wilson the real hero vs Fulham

Newcastle: Wilson the real hero vs Fulham

January 15, 2023
NFT Signals Joins Hands With Xchange Monster to Exploit Synergies

NFT Signals Joins Hands With Xchange Monster to Exploit Synergies

September 3, 2022
Index Investing News

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Investing, World News, Stocks, Market Analysis, Business & Financial News, and more from the top trusted sources.

  • 1717575246.7
  • Browse the latest news about investing and more
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • xtw18387b488

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In