Irish Examiner view: Jacinda Ardern is going as she governed, with wisdom and honesty

New Zealand's prime minister has led with authority and empathy during some of the country's most challenging times

Jacinda Ardern led New Zealand through awful events including the racist mass murder of 51 people at two mosques in 2019, and the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. Picture: Rick Rycroft/AP

Jacinda Ardern’s declaration that she is to step down as prime minister of New Zealand early next month has taken political observers in her home country and around the world by surprise.

Ardern came to particular prominence following her leadership of New Zealand through the pandemic, when she pursued a zero-Covid policy which was initially praised but later abandoned in the face of mounting opposition. Both her popularity and that of her Labour Party have sunk in recent polls, but she retains a strong following in New Zealand.

What is striking is that the youngest prime minister in New Zealand for over a century — Ardern was just 37 years old when taking office — has been refreshingly frank about her reasons for stepping down.

In her resignation announcement, she told colleagues: “I just don’t have enough in the tank for another four years.”

Acknowledging the toll of leadership, and the way it can sap energy, is a welcome display of candour. She has governed at a time of great difficulty, from Covid to domestic crises such as the horrifying mass shooting at Christchurch that killed 51 people. Reforms to New Zealand’s gun laws followed swiftly, with military-style semi-automatic weapons banned just six days later. 

While she governed with authority, she remained empathetic at times of national tragedy. That she returned to work six weeks after giving birth in 2018 was testament to her resilience, determination, and pride in the office.

It should be remembered also that, for all Ardern’s obvious qualities, she still encountered plenty of stereotyping and sexist questioning from the media.

As recently as a month ago she and the prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, were asked by a New Zealand journalist if they were meeting because they were of a similar age and had a lot in common. Ardern immediately asked if male politicians would be subjected to the same line of questioning.

Her departure means the loss of a strong female role model at a time when those are badly needed. In Ireland, we learned this week that male harassers have shown up at the houses of female politicians in Ireland, and that female judges have had plenty of experience of inappropriate behaviour from men. That underlines how far we still need to travel.