Hipkins, 44, who is now the Minister of Police, Education and Public Services, has been described as ‘thoughtful’ and ‘tough’.
New Zealand’s police and education minister, Chris Hipkins, will succeed Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after emerging as the sole candidate nominated to lead the ruling Labor Party.
Following Ardern’s shock resignation, the senior politician must be formally endorsed by Labor MPs in parliament on Sunday and take over as the country’s 41st prime minister.
“The Labor Party caucuses will be held at 1pm. [00:00 GMT] We will endorse the nomination on Sunday and confirm Chris Hipkins as party leader,” Duncan Webb, the party’s chief party member, said in a statement on Saturday.
First elected to Parliament for Labor in 2008, Hipkins, 44, has become a prominent figure in the face of the government’s response to the pandemic after being appointed COVID-19 minister in November 2020. .
Hipkins, who is currently Minister of Police, Education and Public Services and Speaker of the House of Commons, will lead an uphill battle for his party in the October 14 general election. About rising prices, poverty and crime rates.
![New Zealand's new prime minister-to-be Chris Hipkins speaks to the media outside parliament in Wellington on January 21, 2023. [Marty Melville/AFP]](https://news.google.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/000_337H9F6.jpg?resize=770%2C514)
Ardern, a global standard-bearer for progressive politics, surprised New Zealand and the world by announcing her abrupt resignation on Thursday, less than three years after securing a second term in a landslide victory.
Ardern, 42, who has led the country through natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst terrorist attacks in history, said she was no longer “tank enough” to continue her position.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Ardern “faced a level of hatred and violence unprecedented in our country”.
Her successor is widely seen as a safe hand with over 14 years of experience in Congress. Political commentator Josie Pagani describes Hipkins as “sensible, likeable, tough and capable”.
Hipkins’ nomination received no reaction from the country’s main opposition party, the National Party.
The right-wing ACT party criticized the party’s record of welfare entitlement numbers, rising food prices and a tight labor market, urging him to “provide substance to New Zealand, not confuse it”.
The Greens said they looked forward to working with him to “end poverty, take bold climate action and protect native wildlife.”
Hipkins’ appointment dashed speculation that Minister of Justice Kiri Alan, one of the senior Labor Māori MPs, could become the country’s first Māori prime minister.
A Horizon Research snap poll obtained by a local media organization staff on Friday showed Hipkins as the most popular potential candidate among voters, with 26% of those polled supporting him. Indicated.
A poll by the Taxpayers Union and the Curia, released on Friday and based on data before Ardern’s resignation announcement, showed Labor’s support had fallen to 31.7%, while 37.2% of respondents favored the National Party.
