Jacinda Ardern’s resignation says a lot about New Zealand politics

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has led New Zealand for nearly six years, will end her term on February 7.

It also marks the end of at least one stage of her international prominence. Ardern became famous not because of New Zealand’s dominance in the international order, but rather because of who she was and her concrete reactions to domestic and international catastrophes that defined her tenure. She was honored for her leadership through the white supremacist shootings at two mosques in Christchurch and the Covid-19 crisis. Along with leaders like former President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, she’s made her a symbol of young women’s leadership.

Ardern announced Thursday that he will resign before the end of his term and will not seek re-election, citing burnout after a five-and-a-half-year tenure. “The only interesting angle you’ll find is that after six years of some big challenges, I’m a human being.” It means that it is.”

Ardern wasn’t New Zealand’s first female prime minister, but she was the youngest prime minister in history, and having a baby while in office put her in the spotlight internationally as a young feminist leader. Especially in the United States — when older men seemed to be in power despite social progress.

But domestic politics, not international acclaim, determined the country’s leadership in democracy, and Ardern’s Labor Party plummeted in the polls as the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis began. New Zealand’s post-Covid economy is headed for recession. Child poverty, one of Ardern’s causes, continues to rise, generating discontent from both the left and the right.

By all possible metrics, Ardern encountered two major crisis moments that defined her administration, and her flair for communication, empathy, and collaboration were well suited to these crises. She remains popular within the Labor Party and, until recently, was more popular than the party as a whole in polls. Ardern’s counterpart, Christopher Luxon, has gained support in the polls, with Labor winning a majority in 2020 ending in October when Ardern called for elections.

Ardern’s announcement took international observers by surprise, but perhaps it wasn’t much of a shock to New Zealanders, Kathy Smits, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, told Vox. And the historical example that comes to many people’s minds is post-war England. [Winston] Churchill lost the election in 1945. He led Britain through the war and was an incredibly popular prime minister, but people were ready for change,” she said. “I think something similar is happening in this environment.”

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

Ardern earned international acclaim for its response to the 2019 shootings that killed 51 people at Christchurch’s Al Noor Mosque and Lynnwood Islamic Centre. The shooter was a professed neo-Nazi and white supremacist who used semi-automatic weapons to carry out the massacre. Ardern soon connected with the Muslim community and promised that the government would pay for the victims’ funeral expenses. led me to the stage. Her proposal to ban semi-automatic weapons shortly after her shooting also demonstrated her ability to act boldly in the public interest.

This is largely due to the fact that mass shootings have occurred consistently. With the exception of a coordinated reform bill passed last year, no meaningful policy change has been enacted.

“What Jacinda is really, really great at is communication. It’s kind of the iconic side of leadership that brings people together. She’s really good at that,” Smits said.

But as important as Ardern’s global profile is, it cannot get around the grim facts of domestic democratic politics. In New Zealand, this is especially true in the housing market. Many New Zealanders earn their income through owning and renting property. But soaring house prices combined with high interest rates have crippled that sector of the New Zealand economy and contributed to pushing the country into recession, Smits explained. The housing market is also under pressure, making it difficult for many New Zealanders to find affordable housing.

Ardern also failed to make much progress on child poverty in New Zealand, which is among the highest in the West. “It’s a really shocking level,” said Smits, especially among Maori and Pacific peoples. The Ardern administration was able to slightly reduce the proportion of children living in poverty during her tenure, but critics are skeptical, especially given it was one of her major policy agendas. He argues that the government has not gone far enough.

Moreover, tax rates in New Zealand are fairly low, even though taxes or some form of income is needed to fund social programs such as those that help alleviate child poverty. rejected the introduction of a capital gains tax on income — Ardern said such a tax increase would never occur under her leadership.

These domestic issues have made workers vulnerable from both the right and the left. More progressive politicians and voters are frustrated by the party’s inability to make real and significant progress on social issues. This is because they refused to take necessary measures.

But the next election could be more than a Labor defeat, and a return to the form of the New Zealand Parliament, which runs on a mixed proportional system. This means that no party is likely to win a clear majority of seats and a coalition government would be needed.

And after years of crisis within the National Party, opposition leader Christopher Luxon appears to have strengthened the party’s position enough to lure in defectors from the Labor party, Mr Smits said. It is too early to know what the outcome of the next election will be.

New Zealand is not the only country ready for change. Brazil’s Bolsonaro was ousted last year by former president Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva. In Italy, far-right Giorgia Meloni replaced technocratic Chancellor Mario Draghi last year, and in 2021 German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped down after 16 years in power.

Ardern’s impact is large and likely to outweigh government inadequacies

Western feminists support President Ardern, and rightfully so, as a politician who balances power and compassion. A woman who gave birth to a baby while leading her country through one of the most difficult years in recent memory.

leader like Hillary ClintonDirector-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusFormer Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard murmured Endorsing the influence of Ardern and her tenure, Gillard notes that “her example was a shining light to many, especially women.”

In addition to her leadership, Ardern’s iconic influence will likely be a major part of her legacy. I went. We made history in the process. She was the first leader and second elected since Benazir Bhutto did the same in her 1990s.

Ardern’s style is also a marked shift not only from the machismo of authoritarian leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro, but from the often militant nature of politics in general.

“I think what she really offered the world was a model for doing democratic politics that doesn’t rely on abusing other people,” Shaw said. I never use words to describe anyone.”

Perhaps that wasn’t the driving force behind her resignation, but she also stuck with that particular leadership style, Shaw said. “Political Rights, Especially Misogyny, and Anti-Vaxers and Peripherals in Our Political Community”.

It’s impossible to know exactly what will happen to Ardern’s legacy, but her power as a symbol of successful leadership who is both a woman and a mother has helped former President Barack Obama to become America’s first black president. Both set new standards for progress, even if domestic policies were not aligned with progressive ideals. , presented a compelling model not only for the fact that they are world leaders, but also for how leaders behave and make even the toughest decisions with clarity and compassion.