POLITICS | SOCIETY | JACINDA ARDERN

PM’s Tank Is Empty — Tremors Caused By Her Resignation Are Seismic.

Jacinda Ardern’s unprecedented move caused a political fault line to erupt in New Zealand.

Just when everything was going (almost) pleasingly in the smell of summer BBQs in New Zealand Aotearoa came the bombshell announcement that sent shockwaves across the globe.

Jacinda Ardern, the charismatic New Zealand Prime Minister, announced her resignation, taking effect no later than the 7th of February.

Local TV, radio and social media went crazy; in some cases, they read obituaries instead of political news. Or so it feels.

She is not dead. She just resigned.

The rise of the star to global fame.

Jacinda Ardern was elected as an MP in 2008 at 28.

She was well-rehearsed in the theatre of politics when she took the reigns of the Labour Party in 2017, won the election, and formed a coalition government as the youngest female PM ever in New Zealand.

Before that, we saw her regularly on TV morning shows and elsewhere, where she honed her exceptional communication skills. She was young, charismatic and approachable — a breath of fresh air.

She was like nobody else.

As a PM, she promoted kindness, compassion and inclusiveness.

But her baptism of fire came when she led the country through a horrific shooting at the Mosques in Christchurch, where a terrorist murdered 51 Muslims. She made us empathise and feel the pain of those innocent victims and their loved ones. It was heartfelt, raw, sincere and decisive leadership in action. And right after that she pushed trough a radical gun reform that helps the country hopefully prevent any similar tragedies happening in the future.

“Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them … he will, when I speak, be nameless.” — PM Ardern at the Parliament in 2019 after the shootings.

And then came COVID and another sickening test to her leadership. She managed to keep the country safe and going despite unforeseen circumstances. Not a small feat.

The big win came in 2020 when she led Labour to a landslide victory, winning a majority in Parliament and securing her second term in office with approval ratings that went off the charts.

At that time, it seemed that she and the Labour Party were unstoppable. The opposition was fidgeting and fighting each other and could only launch petty personal attacks — towards each other and Ardern.

Ardern was treated like a rock star when she travelled overseas.

Aotearoa was portrayed as an ideal Xanadu with warm-hearted and kind people and thriving communities and well oiled economy despite COVID and all. She was on the cover of almost everything, and US talk shows spread her fame.

It all looked so good, and New Zealand’s brand became more than just a Hobbiton. But the infamous Pandora’s jar was slowly opening — and I don’t now speak about the movie.

The turn of the tide was slow, but the rip current of negative perceptions was intense.

People started to feel anxious and frustrated after lockdowns, economic uncertainty, housing crises and overall stagnation. There was no vision anymore but bureaucracy and failing initiatives that began to backfire.

The opposition saw their field day coming.

With a new pale male and gale leader Christopher Luxon the main opposition party, National, got back on track. The gale force of dissatisfaction that Luxon so skillfullly built lifted National.

Luxon is so not Ardern but still a strangely lovely and ordinary Kiwi bloke. He had international business experience and led the local carrier Air New Zealand to soar to new heights before being elected to Parliament in 2020. He has credibility within the business community that has started to feel a bit icky about Ardern.

While the opposition had time to do some weeding in their messy garden, Ardern had to focus on the policies and reforms that people started to see as bureaucratic and harmful. They blamed Ardern for everything that made their pants feel too tight. And instead of promoting lofty goals, Ardern was dragged into running the country, managing stuff and shovelling shit.

Only once, Ardern lost her cool at the Parliament just before Christmas in 2022. Unfortunately, she had a hot mic, and we could hear her calling the minority party leader ‘an arrogant brick’. Again, what a Christmas gift for those who wanted to turn every stone to find something useful to trash her.

Slowly Ardern was forced to drift away from her core and charismatic message of kindness and transforming the country into a more environmentally sustainable and inclusive place to live.

Economy sages, business people and even some of her hardcore followers saw that she might not have what it takes to win the general election in 2023 and keep her office for a third term.

And then, she resigned on the 19th of January, 2023. Just like that.

She is not dead — mind you — but her party seems to be a zombie.

Ardern came to power as an alternative to the boring Labour dudes who could put even Dame Edna Everage to sleep on one go.

She envisioned a country that embraces diversity, equality and prosperity for all. She communicated it well and got people excited.

And there she fell short: the mediocre cabinet wasn’t on top of the challenging reforms they decided to do.

Unfortunately, the old party machine behind her let her down. Her legacy will be that of a change, but will it last after her term to the right direction, is a question. The devil is in the implementation.

That implementation started to cough, and the overhaul of vocational education, healthcare and national water reform suffered from too cold ovens and too many chefs in the kitchen. In many ways, these three prominent undercurrents dragged Ardern to the deep.

And then there is the economy that shows signs of a recession looming, well — it could be way worse, but Ardern has been blamed for it, too.

Ardern didn’t deserve Labour and its inertia, but she has to pay the price now.

What comes after Ardern?

Opposition is sharpening its knives, and for the Labour caucus, only a few days are left to make the most out of the situation. They can make history or remain as a party that lost the plot again. They might even bring the country a dark horse who could get Labour from its zombiness. Who knows how battle lines will form by the general election in October? I can hear the drums, Fernando.

But Ardern is very much alive.

Ardern is a public figure, but a human too. She was well groomed for the PM role, but thank heavens, she didn’t let it erode her integrity. Instead, she didn’t play by somebody else’s playbook. She chose the the time that suited her and remainded true to herself. I salute that.

She is young, ambitious and honest, not so common attributes in politics — except the ambitious bit. Her destiny is to be a leader wherever she happens to be.

She will again find the limelight, or they will find her.

Meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed and pray the universe to protect this tiny country from horrible leaders. There is a growing queue of them.

Ardern set a benchmark for better but will the remaining gang follow suit remains to be seen.

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