Jacinda Ardern has announced her shock resignation as New Zealand Prime Minister, while also calling an election on October 14.
Key points:
- Ms Ardern choked back tears saying she did not have the energy to seek re-election
- Her final day in office will be February 7
- She announced New Zealand's general election will be held on October 14
Ms Ardern choked back tears on Thursday as she said she did not have the energy to seek re-election.
She said her final day in office will be February 7.
"I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice," she said.
Ms Ardern said she had the support of her family to continue, but they were also on board with her decision.
She said she would be there when her daughter Neve started school next year, and to her partner added: "To Clarke, let's finally get married."
Ms Ardern has been New Zealand's Prime Minister since 2017.
"It’s one thing to lead your country through peace time, it’s another to lead them through crisis. I had the privilege of being alongside NZ in a crisis and they placed their faith in me," she said.
"I have never led on my own,” Ms Ardern said, stating that she has always relied on her team.
With regards to the upcoming elections in October, Ms Ardern said she still believed New Zealand Labour would win, but signalled that Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson would not put himself forward for a run at the party leadership.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ms Ardern was a great friend and had "demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities".
Decrease in popularity
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 in support of the Labour.
Ms Ardern's approval rate also dropped, down to 29 per cent, which was the lowest since 2017, just before she was elected prime minister.
In her campaign, she had pledged to tackle New Zealand's housing problems with a program called Kiwibuild where 100,000 affordable homes were to be built.
But by July last year, only about 1,300 homes had been constructed, with another 1,200 underway, according to the NZ government.
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 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 a very close election, which would mainly be focused on the economy, inflation and equality.
The opposition leader, Christopher Luxon from the New Zealand National Party, has been enjoying relative stability and increasing support.
Still the question remained whether Mr Luxon was going to be able to go up against Ms Ardern who led the country through the Christchurch terrorist attack, the Whakaari White Island disaster and the pandemic.
Youngest leader since the 1800s
Ms Ardern was 37 when she became New Zealand's third female prime minister, and its youngest leader since the 1800s.
After only three months as leader of Labour, she took the party from an unwinnable election position to government.
Before taking the reins of the party, she was deputy leader and has been an MP for the Auckland electorate of Mount Albert since 2008.
She entered the House of Representatives as its youngest member, at 28.
Ms Ardern grew up in the rural town of Morrinsville, on the country's North Island, and went on to live in the UK where she worked as a public servant.
Ms Ardern achieved a level of popularity which was dubbed Jacindamania, that lead to many wearing political T-shirts, carrying tote bags — and also plenty of memes.
In 2018 Ms Ardern gave birth to her first child Neve making her only the second elected world leader, after former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in modern history to give birth while being in office.
ABC/wires
Story First published on ABC News Australia