Ardern shows stamina
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trip to the United States this week once again demonstrated how the world view of New Zealand’s leader appears to differ so radically from many at home.
Over the three days, Ardern held 18 high-level meetings, delivered speeches and attended several other events. Each would have been bookended with briefings. Outside of the last days of a close-call election, few leaders would be called on to do such heavy lifting. The itinerary was so hectic, the media couldn’t keep up.
Arriving in New York on Monday after a 13-hour flight from Japan, she walked to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, followed by a stand-up with media. Ardern had a busy agenda from then on, not least a high-profile sit-down with US President Donald Trump on Monday, as well as delivering speeches on climate change.
She also met new UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss continued efforts toward a UK-NZ free trade agreement as well as the evolving Brexit situation.
Attention naturally focuses on the meeting with Trump, with Ardern having already signalled she would raise New Zealand’s so-far unsuccessful bid for an exemption from US steel and aluminium tariffs.
The two leaders’ discussion also touched on the March 15 terror attack in Christchurch, offering an opportunity for Ardern to encourage Trump to join the Christchurch Call. Shortly after their meeting, Ardern unveiled more countries that had joined the 17 that initially signed the pledge.
Tuesday also included a tech roundtable, where Ardern announced social media giants would join forces to fight extremism, and had a framework to urgently take down online terrorist or violent extremist content. Facebook’s 2IC Sheryl Sandberg joined Ardern for the press conference at the NZ Residence.
On Wednesday she was to the UN again with a number of bilateral meetings during the day before Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited Ardern at the NZ Residence.
Ardern later spoke at a celebration of Gandhi’s 150th birthday and finished the evening delivering New Zealand’s national statement to the UN General Assembly, calling for collaboration and drawing on the lessons of March 15.
By Wednesday morning, the 18-hour workdays were taking a toll — not on Ardern but on the entourage. She headed to an early television interview with CBS, and no journalist could rise to take the one available media spot.
After that, Ardern went to Goalkeepers 2019, hosted by the Gates Foundation, then on to the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, where she took the stage with, among others, Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam for a discussion on trade and climate change. Back at the UN, she announced a new trade negotiation to cut tariffs on climate change-related technology and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
Then a surprise guest appearance
What could she really have achieved over three days in Wellington to compare with this?
on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And after the show, Ardern had a final bilateral with the Prime Minister of India
Eighteen bilaterals, nine speeches, two major announcements, two US media appearances and one press conference. Back in New Zealand, claims surfaced that the Prime Minister was courting global celebrity, ahead of attending to important matters closer to home. But what could she really have achieved over three days in Wellington to compare with this?
In October 2017, Ardern told the UK Guardian: “We will work hard to ensure New Zealand is once again a world leader, a country we can all be proud of. We said we could do this; we will do this.”
And so she is.