RUNNING ON ZERO
Jacinda Ardern resigns as Prime Minister of New Zealand in a tearful press conference, saying she ‘no longer has enough in the tank.’
JACINDA Ardern has resigned as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
In a tearful press conference, the Labour Party leader stated that “it’s time” for her to step down from the position.
She stated: “The last five and a half years have been the most rewarding of my life.
“I am a human being. Politicians are people, too. We give everything we have for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And now is the time for me.
“I understand what this job entails. And I know I don’t have enough gas in the tank to do it justice.”
Her caucus will vote on Sunday to see if a candidate for her replacement has more than two-thirds of the party’s support.
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This vote will determine a new Party leader as well as a new Prime Minister.
If no one can provide the required level of support, the contest will be opened up to the entire membership.
Ardern announced during the press conference that the next election in New Zealand would be held on October 14.
She stated that her decision was not based on doubts about her party’s ability to defeat the National Party’s, Christopher Luxon.
“I am not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election, but because I believe we can and will,” Ardern said.
In her speech, she addressed a message to her partner, Clarke Gayford, who was present.
“Let’s finally get married,” she said.
“Mum is looking forward to being there when you start school next year,” she told her daughter, Neve.
Ardern’s moving statement reflected on high points in her career.
“In addition to our ambitious agenda, which sought to address long-term issues such as the housing crisis, child poverty, and climate change, we also had to respond to a major biosecurity incursion, a domestic terror attack, a volcanic eruption, and a once-in-a-century global pandemic and ensuing economic crisis,” she said.
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“The decisions that had to be made were constant and significant.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the last five years despite the many challenges thrown at us.
“We’ve reversed child poverty statistics and made the largest increases in welfare assistance and public housing stock seen in decades.”
Ardern is the daughter of a police officer and a school catering assistant from Hamilton.
She joined New Zealand’s Labour Party and quickly became involved in the Young Labour movement.
Ardern moved to London after graduating from the University of Waikato with a degree in politics and public relations to work as a senior policy adviser to Tony Blair.
In 2008, she returned to New Zealand to become the country’s youngest MP.
By August 2017, she had quickly risen through the ranks to become the opposition leader.
Despite winning the most votes in the 2017 general election, the National Party did not have enough seats to govern alone.
Instead, a coalition of New Zealand First and the Labour Party was formed, and Jacinda Ardern was appointed Prime Minister on October 26, 2017.
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She is New Zealand’s third female Prime Minister, and in June 2018, she became only the second elected head of government in history to give birth while in office.
Ms Ardern was the first of the world leaders to arrive in London ahead of the Queen’s funeral.
She was among those who came to see Her Majesty lie in state at Westminster Hall.
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