NEW ZEALAND: Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, on Wednesday said farewell to politics with a rousing speech that assured other huggers, nerds, and criers that they could too lead one day.
She said tearfully, “You can be kind, anxious, sensitive, and wear your heart on your sleeve; you can be a mother or not; you can be a hugger, nerd, and a crier; you can be an ex-Mormon or not, you can be all of these things.”
After five years in office, Ardern abruptly announced her resignation in January, claiming she had “no more in the tank” and would not run for office again in the elections scheduled for October.
At the age of 37, Ardern was one of the youngest prime ministers in the world and the third female leader of New Zealand. She became the second world leader to give birth in the office within a year.
When Ardern was chosen to lead the Labour Party seven weeks before a general election, she stated in her speech on Wednesday that the position was one “I never imagined I was supposed to have.”
She said my internal reluctance to lead was probably only equalled by a strong sense of responsibility. “It was a cross between a sense of obligation to guide a moving goods train and being hit by one,” she added.
Many disasters, including the 2019 Christchurch terror incident, which claimed 51 lives at two mosques, a devastating volcanic explosion, and a pandemic that triggered unpopular lockdowns, marked Ardern’s term in office.
During the most grieving or terrible times, Ardern said she was “in people’s lives,” and “their stories and faces stay imprinted in my consciousness and likely will for life.”
Her speech to the legislature was likewise intensely personal. Ardern expressed her worries about having to “harden up” and “alter significantly” to survive in politics.
She admitted to being a “worrier,” a “crier,” and a “hugger,” but added that “despite convincing myself that you cannot be a worrier and be in this place, you can.”
“I didn’t change anything. I am here to tell you you can be that person yet be here. I am leaving this place as sensitive as I ever was, inclined to focus on the bad, and terrified of questioning time.
During her remarks, Ardern also discussed her infertility struggles and her “fear that I was selecting a path that meant I wouldn’t get to have children.” She claimed that after she was elected leader of the Labour Party, she diverted her attention from a failed round of IVF therapy by running for prime minister.
“Imagine my shock when, a few months later, I learned I was expecting,” she added. “I go knowing I did the best job as a mother. You can both be that person and be present.”
Ardern immediately rose to prominence as a progressive icon. She was recognized for her compassion as she led New Zealand through its deadliest terrorist attack in history and brought her infant daughter to the UN General Assembly.
Although staying at home, her popularity declined due to the increased cost of living, a lack of available housing, and economic unease. Threats were made against her, and violent anti-lockdown demonstrations in Wellington, the nation’s capital.
Climate change was a key subject for discussion in her speech, and she noted the disastrous floods that wreaked havoc in the nation’s northeast earlier this year.
She pleaded with the legislature to “please take the politics out of climate change” to lower the emissions required to keep global warming under control. We have all we need to move forward as necessary, she said.
Climate change, child poverty, and inequality were the issues that prompted Ardern to enter politics as she reflected on her tenure in government and her legacy.
