The New Zealand prime minister has apologized to the leader of the opposition party after she was caught on a microphone insulting him during a parliamentary session.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called opposition leader David Seymour an “arrogant b—-” during an exchange in which Seymour asked if Ardern could “set an example of her making a mistake, apologizing for it properly and fixing it.” The Guardian reported. .
Ardern responded by acknowledging the difficulties of his government’s “managed isolation” plan for COVID-19, but told his deputy Grant Robertson that Seymour was “such an arrogant f—-” as he sat down, but microphones picked up the comment.
Seymour asked the speaker for the prime minister to withdraw the comment and apologize. The chamber president refused the request as Ardern had already left parliament at the time, and it was not clear if Hansard’s team noted the comment on their official recording of parliamentary proceedings.
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A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed to reporters that Ardern apologized for the comment, but Seymour made light of it, telling the media that “some days I’m a useless Maori, other days I’m an arrogant p—-.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reacts during a news conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, August 14, 2020. Ardern announced that the three-day lockdown in Auckland would be extended for another 12 days at Level 3. , the rest of New Zealand Zealand will remain in level 2 restrictions while health authorities investigate the source of the first domestic outbreak of coronavirus in more than three months.
(Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
The earlier comment was in reference to another attack on Seymour, who leads the Consumers and Taxpayers Association (ACT) Party, when Maori Development Minister Willie Jackson criticized Seymour, saying he was a “useless defender”, reported The New Zealand Herald.
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Seymour, who claims Maori heritage, had suggested abolishing the Ministry of Maori Development and the Maori Crown Relations Office. He argued that the ministry had not justified its budget or explained what “value” the ministry provided at its cost of $71 million.
Customers enjoy food and drinks at a restaurant in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday, December 3, 2021. Bars, restaurants and gyms reopened in Auckland on Friday as the last major parts of a lockdown that lasted more than 100 days. New Zealand has started a new phase in its response to the virus where there will be no lockdowns, but people will be required to show vaccination passes for many services.
(Alex Burton/NZ Herald via AP)
Ardern and Seymour have sparred over budget proposals as the current Labor government has seen its poll numbers fall over the past year, according to the BBC.
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The Labor Party saw its support fall late last year, after losing support to the opposition National Party earlier this year. Seymour’s ACT party has the third-highest approval rating behind the National and Labor parties respectively.
Consumers and Taxpayers Association Party leader David Seymour speaks during a news conference in the Legislative Council Chamber of Parliament on September 28, 2021 in Wellington, New Zealand.
(Photo by Robert Kitchin – Pool/Getty Images)
Labor peaked at 53% in December 2020 as New Zealanders expressed support for how Ardern and her government handled the pandemic and acted in the crisis, but its popularity has waned in the past two years as inflation rises. and the cost of living. .
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Ardern stated that he stands by his party’s response and the work it has put in, saying the party “always made decisions that we believe are in the best interest of New Zealand at the time.”
