- Ms. Ardern had since offered Mr. Seymour an apology.
- Ms. Ardern is facing mounting political pressure for late 2023 elections.
- The Labour Party is now polling about five points behind the opposition party.
Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has expressed regret for insulting a parliamentary adversary.
After David Seymour, the head of the opposition ACT party, asked a question, microphones picked up the insulting remark.
Mr. Seymour objected to the statement and requested its retraction from the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Later, Ms. Ardern claimed she had expressed regret. Her party has lost ground in recent polls.
In a heated exchange on Tuesday, the prime minister objected to Mr. Seymour’s request for an instance of her “making a mistake, properly apologising for it, and repairing it.”
Ms. Ardern noted that her Labour administration had acknowledged on a number of occasions that there had not been “perfect solutions,” including a crucial component of the nation’s Covid reaction.
For instance, “We have openly stated that [controlled isolation and quarantine] was something that was very challenging at the time, that there were people that were harmed by it, and that we would do things differently if we were ever challenged with it again.”
She continued by saying she supported the job done by her government throughout its period in office.
She stated, “We’ve always taken choices that we thought were right for New Zealand at the time.
As she sat down, Ms. Ardern was overheard saying in a low voice, “Such an arrogant jerk.”
The prime minister’s office stated that Ms. Ardern had since offered Mr. Seymour an apology.
The prime minister has earned strong approval ratings for the majority of her two terms in office and received plaudits from around the world for her tough reaction to the Covid epidemic.
But with elections in New Zealand anticipated for late 2023, Ms. Ardern is facing mounting political pressure.
The Labour Party is now polling about five points behind National, the opposition party.
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