- Jacinda Ardern expressed gratitude for her time in the office.
- Jacinda advised Chris Hipkins.
- Her resignation has sparked a national debate.
WELLINGTON – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed gratitude for her time in office on Tuesday, insisting that a sustained barrage of online abuse was not the cause of her surprise resignation.
The 42-year-old announced last week that she no longer had “enough in the tank” after a tumultuous five years in which she led the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terrorist attack, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her resignation, coming less than three years after a resounding election victory, has sparked a national debate about the vitriol directed at female leaders, particularly on social media.
While visiting the Maori settlement of Ratana in the North Island for her final public appearance as Prime Minister, she stated that she would “hate” for her departure to be seen as a “negative commentary on New Zealand.”
“I leave feeling grateful for having had this wonderful role for so many years,” she said from the birthplace of one of the country’s most influential indigenous political movements.
Ardern stated that she would be withdrawing from domestic politics and offered some advice to Hipkins.
“The most important advice I gave him was probably ‘you do you,'” she said.
“It’s up to him to carve out his own territory and be his own kind of leader.”
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