In US, Ardern’s voice is ‘hope’
The red carpet treatment for Jacinda Ardern at her first outing in New York must have felt like a refreshing drink after the catalogue of troubles she has had to deal with at home.
A packed auditorium and, according to organisers, millions more viewers around the world watched as Ardern was introduced to the stage for the Social Good Summit as one of the voices of ‘‘hope’’.
Ardern was among friends at the US summit, which aims to bring together progressive ‘‘thought leaders from around the world’’. And some of her star billing is due to her being just the second woman to give birth in office.
There is huge interest in Ardern as a new mum, and in baby Neve, who was in the back of the auditorium with dad Clarke Gayford.
But Ardern has also become the torchbearer for progressive politics as a young woman who breaks the mould in a world where the political strongman is on the rise.
She is a foil to the muscular diplomacy of the likes of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It’s the same reason Ardern is in hot demand on the US media circuit; her office turned down dozens of requests but she will be seen by millions at guest appearances on the long running Today Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Ardern’s speech would have enhanced her credentials; she focused on children and poverty and promised to get New Zealand’s ‘‘own house in order’’ rather than lecture the world.
It was a domestic speech for an international audience and the reception was rapturous. Back home, the response may be more muted, where the Government’s programme is often drowned out by the noise surrounding plummeting business confidence, and trouble-prone ministers. But the biggest response came when she told the crowd: ‘‘We’ve had three female prime ministers. It’s really no big deal guys.’’
Ironically, Ardern’s arrival in New York for the United Nations General Assembly coincides with the first anniversary of the 2017 election.
Her week-long schedule underscores how much has changed.
The last New Zealand prime minister to attend UN leaders’ week was Sir John Key, whose schedule was usually heavy on business and trade opportunities.
He was a guest of Wall Street, where he rang the bell to open the New York stock exchange.
He met up with media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and used the United Nations as a springboard to lobby for a global trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, which Trump pulled the US out of.
Ardern’s programme, in contrast, includes progressive causes like the Social Good Summit, climate change, sustainable development, and women in leadership.
But the trade and business focus has not been sidelined.
Ardern is one of the guest leaders at the second annual Bloomberg global business forum, where the focus on strengthening global trade through partnerships and economic alliances dovetails with her own message against the rise of nationalism and protectionism under leaders like Trump. In that respect, she and Key are not so different after all. It’s a message that any New Zealand prime minister in recent times would wave the flag for.
But Ardern’s greater cut-through on the world stage will help get her message heard.