Jacinda Ardern announces that she will step down as Prime Minister.
Photo: RNZ/Katie Scotcher
Jacinda Ardern’s sudden resignation as Prime Minister has made headlines not only in Aotearoa, but around the world.
The 42-year-old said Thursday she would step down no later than February 7, after five and a half years in the top job. She has vowed to stay on as Mt Albert MP until April, to avoid a by-election before the October general election.
The BBC led with the news. He said Ardern became: “the world’s youngest head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37. And a year later she became the second world leader to give birth while in office.” .
“She has led New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic, the Christchurch mosque shootings and the White Island volcanic eruption.
“It is one thing to lead your country in times of peace, and another to guide them through a crisis,” he said. “These events…have been exhausting because of the weight, the sheer weight, and the ongoing nature of it. There was never a moment where it felt like we were just ruling.”
The news quickly rose to the top of the guardian the front page of the website, and the UK newspaper called it a “shocking ad”.
The New York Times noted Ardern’s strong reactions when she went before the media to make the announcement: “In a tearful announcement in the town of Napier, New Zealand…she said she did not feel emotionally equipped to complete another term…”
Latest news: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she would not seek re-election and would step down on February 7. https://t.co/KmtnLnrOUG pic.twitter.com/ouOj5Y9pE3
—The New York Times (@nytimes) January 19, 2023
The Daily Mail said Ardern’s decision had “shocked the world” but he managed to find a place in its headline for his promise to finally marry his fiancé, Clarke Gayford.
Australia’s ABC also chose the word “shock” and focused on how Ardern fought back tears during the announcement.
His Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese said on Twitter she had “shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength.”
“Jacinda Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength. She has shown that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities,” said Albanese.
“Jacinda has been a fierce supporter of New Zealand, an inspiration to many and a great friend to me.”
Jacinda Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength.
He has shown that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities.
Jacinda has been a fierce supporter of New Zealand, an inspiration to many, and a great friend to me. pic.twitter.com/QJ64mNCJMI
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 19, 2023
the aussie leads with the resignation, saying Ardern faced “a brutal election year” but would now resign.
The Wall Street Journal he highlighted Ardern’s leadership through a series of crises, but also noted that shares of the Labour-led government were falling, according to polls.
“Ms Ardern steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and led the country through the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019.
“Opinion polls have shown that Ms Ardern’s centre-left Labor Party lags behind the opposition National Party, even though her own ranking among voters was higher than that of other political leaders. The results of a A poll published last month by 1 News Kantar showed support for Labor had fallen to 33 percent, from 41 percent about a year earlier. National topped that poll with 38 percent,” the Wall Street Journal report said.
#NEW ZEALAND Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her resignation after leading the country for almost six years. https://t.co/qvy8zNYuai
— Samoan Observer (@samoaobserver) January 19, 2023
He Samoan Observer starred in the ad and gave prominence to the family dimension.
“[Ardern’s] The last visit to Samoa as Prime Minister was in August last year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Samoa and New Zealand.”
French news agency Agence France-Presse tweeted the news saying: “New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she will step down in February after having served as the South Pacific nation’s leader for more than five years. he told members of his Labor Party on Thursday that “for me it is time.”
#TO UPDATE New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she would step down in February after leading the South Pacific nation for more than five years.
She told members of her Labor Party on Thursday that “for me it is time.” pic.twitter.com/21SdrWqDkh
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 19, 2023
NBC News focused on the election campaign before Ardern. It said: “Ardern had faced a tough election campaign this year. His liberal Labor Party won re-election two years ago in a landslide of historic proportions, but recent polls have put his party behind its Conservative rivals. .
“She was lauded globally for her country’s initial handling of the coronavirus pandemic after New Zealand managed for months to contain the virus at its borders. But her zero-tolerance strategy was abandoned once it was challenged by new variants and vaccines became available. She faced harsher criticism at home that the strategy was too strict,” NBC said.
Canada’s national newspaper The globe and the mail he said Ardern told the nation in a televised statement that he believed Labor would win the election.
Singapore the times of the strait he drove with the news and, like many other world media outlets, focused on the line that the prime minister had little left in the tank for politics.
He also noted that: “Ms. Ardern was expected to seek a third term in this year’s general election, though she faced an uphill battle as memories of her strong leadership during the early stages of the pandemic fade and the Voters are focused on rising cost of living and a darkening economic outlook.”
He South China Morning Mail, in Hong Kong, described the prime minister’s resignation as a surprise announcement. “I know what this job requires, and I know I don’t have enough in the tank anymore. It’s that simple,” Ardern was quoted as saying.
He morning mail she also gave background on Ardern: “Elected prime minister in 2017 at age 37, Ardern is one of the world’s youngest heads of government, and only the second to become a mother while still in office.”
The Indian Times it gave Ardern’s resignation prominence with a news agency story near the top of its website.
India today carried away with the news. He highlighted links to the prime minister’s interaction with ACT leader David Seymour when she called him an “arrogant jerk” as well as a story by Ardern and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin deploring sexist reporting.
