No more in the tank
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement shocks the Kiwis and world observers. She had “no more in the tank” to continue leading the country and would step down early February and not seek re-election, said the 42-year-old female leader.
Ardern ascended to power after she was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party in March 2017, paving the way for her party to win majority seat during the 2017 general election in September of that year.
The Guardian describes Ardern as a one-of-a-kind leader who knows her time was up. Reuters notes that the lady prime minister has put tiny New Zealand on the map in her five years as prime minister, becoming a global icon for left-leaning politics and women in leadership, even as she struggled at home with the economy and COVID-19 restrictions.
Unprecedented events have put the New Zealand’s leader to the test such as the 2019 massacre of 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch by a white supremacist, the eruption of the White Island volcano, and the pandemic that started in 2020.
Recently, Ardern’s ratings have dropped due to a worsening crisis, rising living costs and mortgage rates, and growing concerns about crime. But she still remains more popular than her rivals.
New Zealand’s economy is highly developed and free-market, ranking 51st in the world based on nominal gross domestic product. It has a population of rough 5 million. Metro Manila is more than twice bigger in terms of population.
The Philippines is way larger than New Zealand in terms of population and slightly bigger in terms of land area. As leaders of a lower middle-income country with the country’s wealth concentrated in few rich families, Filipino politicians definitely have a lot more on their plate. Despite lackluster performance, nobody is humble enough to admit that there is no more in the tank.
Reports speculate that her resignation was triggered by waning popularity or burnout. Whatever her personal motive in stepping down from power, does not matter anymore. Ardern’s act of stripping off her power and her humble admission that she has “no more in the tank” is a very bold move that should set a standard for all leaders to follow.