Jacindamania great for NZ but depressing for her rivals
The Prime Minister’s first trip overseas in her new capacity has undoubtedly been a great success — for her personally, for New Zealand and even — perhaps — for the Commonwealth itself.
The charm, freshness and intelligence which lay behind a domestic election victory that at one point looked unlikely have all now been recognised on the international stage and have drawn forth a range of favourable responses from international leaders who have clearly been intrigued not only by a fresh face but by someone they had not expected to see — a young woman leader, not only attractive, but pregnant, and with surprising self-confidence and surefootedness on her first foray abroad.
The image she presented is entirely at one with the image that New Zealand would like to think it shares — the image of a country that dares to be different and to break new ground and that is keen to find new and better ways of doing things.
The response and the special attention she received — from the Queen herself and from other senior Commonwealth and European leaders — were not just a feather in her cap, but a plus for New Zealand as well. And that plus could turn out to be of considerable value.
New life has been breathed into the Commonwealth — an international association of amazing scope and variety whose potential has never been properly recognised — and, if that should lead to a new trade agreement extending across so many countries at different stages of development, that could bring huge benefits not only to us but to a significant proportion of the world’s population.
There is of course a downside to the Prime Minister’s success. While most Kiwis will be quick to acknowledge the favourable impression she has made, her political opponents at home will be a good deal less enthusiastic. As the good news stories and images filled our screens, their angst is almost visible and audible.
There, before their very eyes, they could see the next election slipping away — and, with Simon Bridges struggling to make an impression, not least with his own supporters — we are seeing increasing evidence of how desperate they are to prick the bubble of Jacindamania that has now reached international proportions.
So, we are now being fed a daily diet of opinions from those who are being pressed into service to find something to say — anything — that might take away some of the gloss. The problem for such nay-sayers is that they are obviously struggling to find something sensible and of substance to say.
So, the headlines tell us that Jacinda is “just like Trump” and that Jacinda’s partner, Clarke Gayford, is suspect because he spells his first name with an “e”. Anyone who bothers to read beyond the headline will find that any substance to support it is pathetically missing (and one suspects that the headline is the real point of the exercise and its simple purpose is to plant the impression in the reader’s mind that not everyone is ready to join the Jacinda fan club).
It may be that the PM’s return to home territory will alleviate the panic that has beset her opponents and that we will then return to politics as usual. In the meantime, as we celebrate another win for the Black Ferns to follow up on their Commonwealth Gold Medal, let us also enjoy the success achieved as another of our most promising young women carried our flag into the international arena and came home with a gold medal.