New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern announces resignation

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand and an international leader in progressive politics, shocked the country. She was re-elected for a second term in 2020, the victory buoyed by her government’s “go hard and go early” approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw New Zealand impose some of the world’s strictest border rules, separating families and shutting out almost all foreigners for almost two years. For her compassionate handling of the 2019 Christchurch mosque tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 51 Muslim worshippers and the wounds of an additional 40, Ardern received praise from all over the world.

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Ms. Ardern had faced a tough election campaign this year. Her Liberal Labour Party won re-election two years ago in a landslide of historic proportions, but recent polls have put her party behind its conservative rivals. She received praise from all over the world for how her nation initially handled the coronavirus epidemic when New Zealand was able to contain the virus at its borders for months. But its zero-tolerance strategy was abandoned once it was challenged by new variants and vaccines became available.

Why this decision has been taken?

• Ms Ardern’s resignation comes not long after she saw support for her party decreasing, with polls conducted last November showing only 33 per cent of respondents in support of Labour.
• Just before she was chosen as prime minister, Ms. Ardern’s approval rating fell to 29%, the lowest level since 2017.
• In her campaign, she had pledged to tackle New Zealand’s housing problems with a program called Kiwibuild in which 100,000 affordable homes were to be built.
• However, according to the NZ government, just approximately 1,300 dwellings had been built by July of last year, with another 1,200 under construction.
• Ms Ardern also had to deal with New Zealand’s child poverty rate, which although declining remains higher than rates in comparable European countries, especially for single-parent families.
• Another issue that the country has been dealing with is the fallout of the pandemic and surging inflation.
• Political analysts had earlier predicted that the 2023 elections would be very close, and mainly focused on the economy, inflation and equality.