New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was resigning, in a shock announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October this year.
At the party’s annual meeting on Thursday, Ardern said there was “no longer enough left in the tank” to get the job done. “It’s about time,” she said.
“I am leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility of knowing when you are the right person to lead and when you are not. I know what this job requires. And I know I don’t have enough left in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple, she said.
Her term as prime minister will end no later than February 7, but she will continue as an MP until elections later this year.
“I am a person, politicians are people. We give all we can while we can. And then it’s time. It’s time for me, too,” she said. Ardern said she considered over the summer break whether she had the energy to continue playing the role and concluded she didn’t.
Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 at the age of 37. She has guided New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and major disasters, including the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch and the White Island volcanic eruption.
“These have been the most fulfilling five and a half years of my life. But it has had its challenges – amid an agenda focused on housing, child poverty and climate change, we have encountered … domestic terror, a major natural disaster, a global pandemic and an economic crisis,” she said.
Asked how she would like New Zealanders to remember her leadership, Ardern said “as someone who always tried to be nice”.
“I hope to leave New Zealanders with the belief that you can be kind but strong, empathetic but determined, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to walk away,” Ardern said.
Over the past year, Ardern has faced a significant increase in threats of violence, particularly from conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccine groups angered by the country’s vaccine mandates and Covid-19 lockdown. However, she said the increased risk associated with the job was not behind her decision to step down.
“I don’t want to give the impression that the adversity you face in politics is why people leave. Yes, it has an impact. We are still human, but that was not the basis of my decision,” she said.
Ardern said she has no future plans other than to spend more time with her family.
She thanked her partner Clarke Gayford and her daughter Neave, who she gave birth to while in office, as “the ones who have sacrificed the most of all of us”.
“To Neve: Mom is looking forward to being there when you start school this year. And to Clark – let’s finally get married.”
Jacinda Ardern and partner Clark Gayford leave after she announced her resignation in Napier, New Zealand, on Thursday. Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images
The Prime Minister’s announcement comes as New Zealand enters a tough election year, with the vote date set for October 14. Polls in recent months have put the Ardern-led Labor Party slightly behind the opposition National.
Ardern said her drop in the polls was not behind the decision to quit.
“I’m not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election, but because I believe we can and we will, and we need new shoulders for this challenge,” she said.
However, who will replace Ardern remains unclear: Deputy leader and finance minister Grant Robertson, who would be considered the front-runner for the role, said on Thursday he would not seek the position. In a statement, he said he was “not putting myself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Labor Party”.
The Labor caucus has seven days to find out if a new candidate has more than two-thirds of the support in the caucus to become the new leader and prime minister. The factional vote for a new leader will take place in three days, on January 22. If no one meets that threshold of support, the leadership race will go to the wider Labor membership.
Jacinda Ardern showed the world how to lead with intelligence and strength.
She demonstrates that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities.
Jacinda was a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me. pic.twitter.com/QJ64mNCJMI
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 19, 2023
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Ardern, saying she had “shown the world how to lead with intelligence and strength”.
“She showed that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities,” he said.
Add Comment