New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern resigns due to burnout
Prior to this year’s election, Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as prime minister of New Zealand, claiming she no longer has “enough in the tank” to lead.
The shocking news comes as polls suggest her Labour Party party would have a difficult time winning re-election on October 14.
As she explained how six “difficult” years in the position had taken a toll, Ms. Ardern cried up.
On Sunday, Labour MPs will vote to elect her successor.
Ms. Ardern, 42, claimed that during the summer break she had given some thought to her future in order to find the passion and vigour to continue in the position.
She told reporters on Thursday, But regrettably I haven’t, and I would be doing New Zealand a disservice to continue.
Why Ardern’s popularity in New Zealand declined
By February 7, Ms. Ardern will retire. The vote will be cast by the lay membership of Labour if no candidate for the position receives the backing of two-thirds of the party room.
When Ms. Ardern, then 37, won the 2017 election for prime minister, she made history as the world’s youngest female head of state.
And a year later, after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990, she became the second elected world leader to give birth while in office.
She guided New Zealand through the White Island volcano eruption, the Christchurch mosque massacres, and the Covid-19 outbreak and recession that followed.
Leading the nation through a “crisis,” according to Ms. Ardern, has been the “most satisfying” five and a half years of her life.
Due to their magnitude, weight, and ongoing nature, these events have been demanding. There has never really been a time when it felt like we were just running the country.”
One of those who praised Ms. Ardern “for her contribution to New Zealand.
