EDITORIAL Ardern legacy: Inspirational Prime Minister

• Published date: 26 January 2023
• Publication title: Northland Age, The

The crowd on the steps of the Beehive erupted in cheers. Eyes welled with tears and there were fond embraces. In homes around New Zealand, meanwhile, the reactions will have been much more mixed. Some will have wept and some would have celebrated

As we noted the day after her resignation, Ardern led during an incredibly divided time in New Zealand and abroad. She and her Government have had strong supporters — but also many detractors.

Through her prime ministership, Ardern had the capacity to enthral or aggravate with a degree of passion more than any Prime Minister in living memory. Perhaps John Key also held such an aptitude but his tenure was at a different, more benign time.

This is a world destabilised by the impacts of a pandemic, and given voice as never before by unfettered social media amplification. We are now entering into the post-war period for this generation. New Zealand is not immune to stress from enforced lockdowns and rampant residual inflation due to emergency economic measures.

Ardern’s supporters have raised the issue of misogyny and that’s a factor in some of her harshest critics.

The immediate aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings is where Ardern’s calls for kindness were demonstrated. The atrocity held real potential for retaliation and a head-scarfed Ardern embracing the victims and families almost certainly de-escalated tensions.

Ardern leaves office...