New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Image: AP
Jacinda Ardern plans to resign from office in February. She lacks the strength to continue the work: “We all give as long as we can, and then it’s over.”
NNew Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surprisingly announced her resignation on Thursday. At her first press conference of the year, she announced she would step down on February 7. Ardern gave the reason that she felt that she no longer had enough strength for more years in her office. “I know what it takes for this job and I know I don’t have enough in the tank anymore. It’s so simple,” she said.
“We all give as long as we can give and then it’s over. And for me, now is the time,” added Ardern. Her resignation will take effect upon the appointment of a successor. A new leader of the Labor Party is to be elected on Sunday. The next general election in New Zealand is scheduled for October 14.
Ardern was elected prime minister in 2017 and, at the age of 37, was one of the youngest women to be prime minister in the world. She was confirmed in this office in the parliamentary elections in October 2020, and achieved a historic election victory. In all her years in government, the charismatic politician made a name for herself, above all with her sensitive crisis management.
This applied, among other things, to New Zealand’s path through the corona pandemic. Ardern also received a lot of recognition for her reaction to the terrorist attack in March 2019 on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 51 people. At the time, she gave a moving speech and wore a headscarf to show her solidarity with the Muslim community around the world. Most recently, however, the popularity ratings of the head of government and her party had fallen in surveys.