‘No one marched when I was elected’
New Zealand PM inspires others with vision of hope
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealanders call their seat of power the Beehive, a sparkle of Kiwi humor for a spiraling concrete building that looks exactly as it sounds.
On the ninth floor, the country’s leader greets visitors in an unassuming office with posters of women in wartime and a view of the Wellington harbor.
“I’m Jacinda,” she says, extending her hand.
The calm belies a movieworthy first 100 days for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who in October, at 37, became the world’s youngest female leader.
Ardern took control after jumping into the race seven weeks before the vote. She formed a coalition government of rivals, akin to Bernie Sanders sharing power with Ted Cruz.
Then, in January, Ardern announced her pregnancy — which means this year she’ll become the only elected world leader besides the late Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to give birth in office.
She rose to power on a platform of positivity and optimism, more in line with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau than President Donald Trump.
It’s not just her age or pregnancy that has sparked the rush of adulation known as “Jacindamania.” It’s her message. Ardern offers a vision of hope for liberal democracy in a region where those values face a resurgent threat, and America’s role is shrinking.
“It’s about us ultimately being responsive,” she said. “Seeing what change is bringing and acknowledging the needs there are and doing something about it.”
Ardern began her tenure at a precarious time for the Asia-Pacific region, and the world.
China — New Zealand’s largest trading partner — just announced it would abolish term limits, setting up President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely and wield greater control.
Strongman leaders in the Philippines and Cambodia threaten to unravel fledgling democracies.
Trump has pulled the U.S. out of a climate change agreement and the massive trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
When Trump met Ardern at a summit in Vietnam in November, he noted that her surprise win caused “a lot of upset in her country.”
She chuckled and replied: “No one marched when I was elected.”
Ardern has helped craft a new version of the trade deal. She trumpets the need to combat climate change and is reinforcing the country’s commitment to reduce nuclear weapons internationally.
“We feel quite proud that she is leading us, in comparison to the rest of the world,” said Ruby Topzand, 22, a communications student at Massey University’s Wellington campus. “She’s the rebellion.”
Ardern wasn’t even supposed to be in the election — at least not this one.
Last March, she took over as deputy leader of the Labor Party. By July, its head, Andrew Little, announced his resignation amid record-low poll ratings. That left Ardern to dive in mid-race and duke out a win for Labor against the conservative, longtime incumbent National Party.
Ardern’s slogan sprang from one of her social media sign-offs: “Let’s do this.”
Neither side won enough seats for a majority government, so the decision about the country’s future came down to the anti-immigration leader of the New Zealand First party, Winston Peters.
He became deputy prime minister and foreign minister as part of the deal.
Ardern told reporters she celebrated her win by heading back to her Wellington studio apartment and eating a “pot of noodles.”
Ardern, whose partner is fishing show host Clarke Gayford, discovered she was pregnant six days before learning she would become New Zealand’s third female prime minister.
“I certainly didn’t set out to necessarily do any of these things in this order,” said Ardern, flashing one of her wide, trademark smiles. “But I’m determined that people see that the tradeoffs that women have been asked to make in the past don’t have to be.”
Her new role has drawn global attention to this former British colony: a congratulatory letter from Hillary Clinton, a Vogue photo shoot, an Australian interviewer who wanted to discuss her baby’s conception.
“In one way, I’m lucky because I didn’t have a choice,” Ardern said. “We didn’t sit at home and say, ‘Who is going to quit their job?’ ”
People then started crafting tote bags and internet memes. Jacindamania had begun.
“She’s captured the imagination of a lot of women out there who might have political ambitions,” said Jennifer Curtin, a University of Auckland professor who researches women in politics.
“I wouldn’t like to say Trump and Brexit gave her a halo, but her relentless positivity was able to give her more traction.“
New Zealand, with a population under 5 million and incredible natural beauty, is often cast as a paradise at the bottom of the world. The post office conducts a national Secret Santa gift exchange. Airport signs tell travelers to relax. Even the sheep look happy.
But Ardern faces a less serene reality. Housing prices rank among the highest in the world. Homelessness is the worst among developed countries. Signs on farmhouses warn against child abuse.
Ardern named inequality and child poverty as priorities for her administration. Last month, she became the country’s first prime minister to march in a gay pride parade.
But she must also find common ground with a coalition diametrically opposed to her on many issues. As one of her first deal-making moves, Ardern outlined a plan to ban foreign home buyers.
She said it followed through on a promise to lower soaring property prices and equalize opportunity.
Ardern’s path to politics went through New York; she volunteered for a workers’ rights campaign and assisted in a soup kitchen.
She served as a researcher for former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and a policy adviser for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair before entering the New Zealand Parliament in 2008. She was 28.
“My passion for social justice came from what I saw,” she said in her introductory speech. “My love of politics came when I realized that it was key to changing what I saw.”
Conservatives label her allure “stardust.” Ardern, to some, is not a refreshing breath of sincerity and openness but an untested, dangerously naive social democrat driven by idealism. She ignores them. “It’s just for us to do our bit, regardless of what anyone else is doing,” she said, before returning to her desk and the day that awaited. “I hope all the international community finds the path to make its contribution. That doesn’t change our duty.”