Chris Hipkins, 44, will lead the New Zealand government. The current Minister of Education, Police and Public Services is the only candidate to put forward the Social Democratic Party of outgoing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Hipkins also assumes leadership of the party. The Labor Party is expected to officially approve the new role of Hipkins, who has been in parliament since 2008, this weekend, media in New Zealand write.
Ardern, who became one of the world’s youngest female heads of government in 2017 at the age of 37, surprisingly announced this week that she would step down from her position on February 7. She said she didn’t have enough energy for it anymore. “It is time,” she said.
Privilege
According to the prime minister, it is a ‘privilege’ to be at the helm, but it is therefore important to realize how great her responsibility is. “The responsibility of knowing when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job requires of me. And I know I no longer have enough in the tank to do her justice. It’s that simple,” said Ardern during the announcement. “We give everything we can as long as we can, and then it’s time to stop. And for me now is the time.”
Ardern was elected prime minister six years ago at the age of 37 and in 2017 was the youngest female head of government in the world. The following year, as the second world leader in office, she gave birth to baby daughter Neve Te Aroha. She even took her baby to a UN meeting to change and breastfeed. In 2021, Neve made the news again when she disrupted a live stream of her mother when she should have been in bed.
Force majeur
Ardern oversaw New Zealand’s strict corona policy during the pandemic and tightened gun laws after a gunman killed 51 in two mosques in Christchurch. Partly thanks to her strict, but clear corona performance, she won the 2020 elections by force majeure. She got roughly half of all the votes.
But over the past year, Ardern has also seen a “significant increase” in threats of violence, particularly from conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccine groups outraged by the country’s vaccine mandates and lockdowns. “I don’t want to give the impression that the adversity you face in politics is the reason people are leaving. Yes, it does have an effect. After all, we are human beings, but that was not the basis of my decision.”
On October 14, New Zealanders will elect a new parliament. Adern will not stand for election there, she made it clear. She will remain as a member of parliament until the end of April. Ardern indicated that she wanted to spend more time with her family. She thanked her partner, Clarke Gayford, and daughter as “those who sacrificed the most of all of us.” “To Neve: Mom looks forward to being there for you when you go to school this year. And to Clarke: let’s finally get married.”
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