On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern gave a shocking announcement of her resignation as the prime minister of New Zealand. She said she no longer had enough in the tank to do the job.
What is the Complete News?
Let me tell you, Jacinda Ardern is the youngest female head of the New Zealand government.
In 2017 she was elected as a prime minister at 37. She is known for leading New Zealand through some significant disasters, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the White Island volcanic eruption and the terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch.
On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern announced that she is stepping down as New Zealand’s Prime Minister. At the party’s annual caucus meeting, she made a statement that the labour leader would stand down no later than 7 February as no longer she had enough in the tank to do the job.
She said she’s leaving because with such a privileged role comes the responsibility to know when you’re the right person to lead and also when you’re not. She knows what this job takes and now she doesn’t have enough to do the justice. It’s that simple.
And Jacinda made this shocking announcement just before the upcoming elections. Also, she confirmed a national election for October this year. After the announcement, Jacinda’s term as prime minister will be till 7 February.
But she can continue as a member of parliament until the election later this year.
What Jacinda Ardern has to Say about her Resignation
Jacinda made a statement that she’s human, and politicians are also human. She gave her everything as long as she could, and then there is a time when everything has to be done, and that time is now, she said.
Jacinda also said she is reflecting whether she had the energy to continue with the role, and she decided not to. For her, it has been the most fulfilling five and a half years of her life.
But she also had to face a lot of challenges like focusing on housing, child poverty, natural disaster and encountering economic crisis, global pandemics, natural disasters etc. She said she wants New Zealanders to remember her leadership and as someone who always tried to be kind.
Jacinda hopes she has left New Zealanders believing you can be optimistic but focused, kind but strong and empathetic but decisive.
However, throughout her prime minister career, she faced a significant increase in threats of violence from conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccine groups infuriated by the Covid-19 lockdowns.
She cleared that these increased risks were not the reason for her resignation. She doesn’t want to leave the impression that the adversity we face in politics is why people quit.
Jacinda said we all are human at the end of the day, but that was not the reason for her decision.
She also said she’s not leaving because she believes she couldn’t win the upcoming elections. Instead, she believes she can win, but she’s looking for a fresh set of shoulders for the challenge.
What’s Next for Her?
Jacinda also shared her plans to spend more time with her family after resigning. Jacinda thanked her husband, Clarke Glayford and her daughter Neve, for respecting her decision.
She said they were the persons that have sacrificed the most out of them. Now again, she wants to play her role as a mother. She is always looking forward to being there for her daughter.
Who will Replace Jacinda Ardern?
It’s going to be a big question after resignation. There is a person who would be considered a frontrunner for the role, Grant Robertson, deputy leader and finance minister. But according to his statement on Thursday, he is not interested in the role.
He said he decided not to put himself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the labour party. Now, the Labour Caucus party got seven days to determine whether they are electing any candidate from their party for the leadership.
If there is no one to participate in the election, it will go for broader labour membership.
Leave a comment