Jacinda Ardern steps down as Prime Minister of New Zealand

by Vijaya Chandrasoma

“If I could distil it down into one concept that is simple, it is this: Kindness”. Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, 43. announced her resignation from her job with effect from February 7, 2023. Ardern was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2008. A progressive politician, a “damn commie” in conservative American parlance, she was elected to lead the Labour Party which won the general election in 2017 in a coalition with the New Zealand First and Green Parties. Ardern was sworn-in as Prime Minister in October, 2017. At age 37, she became the world’s youngest female head of state.

According to the Sunday Times, she never wanted to be Prime Minister. When asked to take over the leadership of the Labour Party, her first response was in the negative. Her eventual yes and promise of ‘relentless positivity’ led to an immediate turnaround for the Party, which went on to win power. She was young, progressive and charismatic, bringing refreshing hope in a country grappling with a housing crisis, rising homelessness, inequality, cost of living and climate change.

Even more remarkable is that she has decided to step down at the height of her powers and popularity. An action in complete contrast to most politicians who cling to power in their dotage, when it is obvious that they are no longer able to shoulder the responsibility of leadership. Some never had that ability, others are shackled by their greed, yet others take full advantage of the absolute power that corrupts absolutely.

Ardern’s announcement of the reason for her resignation was as unprecedented as it was unusually humble, especially for one so young. She attributes the secret behind her success was her lack of ambition to be in a political position. She never felt the need to face the trade-off between her values and political survival. “She decided never to compromise. That meant, that if being herself implied losing an election, so be it. She wasn’t willing to lose herself in the process”.

“I am leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice, it’s that simple….I am human, politicians are human. We give all we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time”.

As Prime Minister of New Zealand over the past seven years, she would have met many of the leaders of the free and not so free worlds, to some of whom these words would have sounded like rank heresy. Those are the leaders who hallucinate they are superhuman, who take all they can for as long as they can, giving nothing back, and who leave only when they are forced to: defeated at the elections, jailed or assassinated.

I would like to bring Ms. Ardern’s decision to resign in the perspective of the current political environment of two democracies, the United States of America and Sri Lanka.In America, the former President refuses to concede his conclusive defeat at the 2020 general election even after two years, lying that the election was stolen from him. A lie that is still believed, despite the lack of a shred of evidence, by the greater part of the Republican Party. An election that has been described by federal and state election officials as the fairest in history.

The fact that, while he is being investigated, two years after the election, for various felonies, including fraud, abuse of power, sedition and treason, he still has the support of millions of white and wannabe white Americans, is nothing short of astonishing.

Trump was succeeded by yet another septuagenarian, who has been running on fumes over the past two years, but is still doing an admirably better job than his predecessor. Actually, that is hardly a compliment. The bar was the lowest it had ever been. No one would be able to outdo the catastrophe that was the Presidency of the USA between 2017 and 2021.

In Sri Lanka, heads of state have been assassinated, defeated at the polls, or resigned amidst violent mass protests at the mismanagement and corruption of successive administrations. None has willingly resigned.

We are now at a stage when inflation is exceeding triple digits, when poverty is rampant; at a time when the international community hesitates to bail us out yet again as their previous efforts have only enriched politicians, their families and their cronies. These crooks have been stealing from the poorest of our poor to impoverish a once beautiful and prosperous island to the level of the most indigent of nations in the world.

It’s not as if we do not have the potential of young, educated and honest leaders to assume leadership. Unfortunately the political system in Sri Lanka is designed to prevent them from reaching the highest levels, which seem to be reserved for a few dynasties carved after independence. Also, those qualified for the job lack the ambition or the inclination to lead a nation mired in corruption and thievery at the highest and lowest levels.

Up to the end of the 20th century, elected leaders have generally been middling to old men, with a few notable exceptions. However, the new century has seen more countries electing women to high political offices, including heads of state.

According to the United Nations, 26 women were serving as heads of state as of September 2021. Many of these women are earning praise for their innovative and effective leadership and for offering unique and fresh perspectives on the challenges their countries face. They are emulating Ardern’s greatest strength, their femininity, in a leadership style of kindness and empathy, combined with decisive action, which will be Ardern’s ultimate legacy.

An agnostic with no religious ties, Ardern won international plaudits for the immediate and decisive action she took after an Australian Muslim hating terrorist of the Trump or garden variety, killed 51 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, in the South Island. She passed legislation to prohibit the use of all military style semi-automatic guns and rifles within 26 days, bought back such weapons in civilian hands and confiscated those that were not surrendered. There has been no mass shooting in New Zealand since.

Immediately after the Christchurch shooting, Ardern held a press conference, to address the nation in an effort to unite its citizens against racial and religious hatred. She said, “They are us. New Zealand has been chosen because it was safe, it was no place for hatred or racism. Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, home for those who share our values. Refuge for those who need it”.

She is also widely credited with acting swiftly and decisively to combat the Coronavirus, enacting measures to isolate cases and minimize its spread. She effectively communicated with five million of the nation’s citizens the reasons behind the harsh but necessary lockdowns. New Zealand was the first nation to completely eradicate the virus and safely reopen its borders.

Susan Devaney of Vogue writes that the stringent though empathetic measures taken by Ardern to contain the results of the turmoil caused by the lockdowns have “maybe given a glimpse of a different kind of leadership, one that puts kindness at the top of the agenda”.

Besides the two main islands, New Zealand is an archipelago with 600 to 700 offshore islands, a dozen or so which are inhabited. The threat of climate change is especially perilous for these island nations. Ardern is of the opinion that “if we do not respond to climate change, we will continue to have these emergencies on our shores, and indeed, globally”.

Ardern recently married her longtime partner, Clarke Gayford, a celebrity TV fisherman. They have an adorable little four-year old daughter, Neve, and her immediate plans for the future are to spend more time with her family. But there is speculation that she will embark on a second career, sooner than later.

Stephen Hoadley, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at the University of Auckland says, “she has the potential, she has the ability, she has the profile, she has the acceptability to do a whole lot of things. Give her a few weeks to rest up and refill her tank, to use her phrase. But I would imagine by the end of this year, she’ll be off and running on a whole new career line. Jacinda could be tapped by any number of United Nations or charitable foundations…. Her profile is so high that I think she would have her pick”.

Perhaps we should appeal for her services as a sort of Consultant President, and give her the complete freedom to help us sort out the mess caused by crooks and incompetents over the past decades. Especially when there is no new face on the horizon to take care of the ongoing crisis.

It took only one great leader 70 years ago to initiate the transformation of the shanty town of Singapore of the 1950s into one of the most advanced, beautiful and wealthy states in the world today. Perhaps we could persuade Ms. Ardern to be our Lee Kwan Yew.