Jacinda Ardern has announced she is standing down as PM …
Jacinda Ardern has just announced she is standing down as Prime Minister from February 7 and will not seek re-election. Further details will follow.
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jacinda ardern
The importance of political narrative
Wayne Brown’s campaign techniques used in the Auckland Mayoral election are likely to be used by National in the election campaign this year.
New Zealand is in a terrible state *
* or is it?
The Standard’s political awards for 2022
It is that time of year again where the events of the year are reviewed and what was notable, noteworthy and notorious.
The one thing Jacinda Ardern can do is speak to our hearts
Mawkish sentiment running up to Christmas perhaps, but imagine Luxon or Willis speaking hours after the Christchurch massacre. Only Ardern of the entire Parliament has the ability to govern for calm in the name of the calm we all need.
Much ado about nothing
The big news this week was Jacinda Ardern describing David Seymour in an unparliamentary phrase on an open mike in Parliament. But the matter was resolved in a way that can only happen in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Labour’s big reset
New Zealand politics is at an interesting stage. With announcements about Ministerial futures pending and with a review of all current projects to occur over Christmas Jadinda Ardern is planning to repurpose Labour to have its best chance in the election next year.
What Is Labour’s Purpose This Term?
It is time to set out succinctly and without recourse to abstract nouns exactly what this Labour government has intended, is doing, and how it seeks to alter the country.
Overblown rhetoric and Laura Norder
This week has seen some extreme rhetoric from various quarters about who to blame for a recent senseless killing. But news that the person arrested had recently been extradited from Australia has shown the rhetoric to be entirely misplaced.
Prime Minister Ardern and Premier Xi
New Zealand has the most adroit and high profile international leader in a generation with Prime Minister Ardern, but she has weakened New Zealand against China.
Diplomatic Values
Trudeau got a 10-minute stand-up with Xi followed by a public shirt-fronting, Albanese a 32-minute sit-down, and Jacinda Ardern a 50-minute formal bilateral. In the carefully calibrated world of the diplomatic dance-card, that says something. New Zealand would be foolish not to take advantage of what is on offer from China.
Why Is Labour Such a Hard Sell Now?
So why is Labour and Ardern struggling when the economy is so strong?
Jacinda Ardern to National – Bring It On
Text and video of Jacinda Ardern’s speech today to the Labour Party Annual Conference.
The use of rumour as a political weapon
US conservative figures are downplaying the right’s involvement in a hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband by spreading completely unfounded rumours. And in Aotearoa rumours continue to be spread about Jacinda Ardern’s pending resignation despite her repeatedly ruling this out. Clearly some see the use of rumours as a valid political weapon even if they are based on complete falsehoods.
Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Chameleon
Gaurav Sharma has announced his immediate resignation from Parliament and that he will contest the by election as leader of a new centrist party. He also claims that the Government was going to waka jump him six months from the next election but unless National agrees this is impossible.
We needed Wayne Brown
The left and the Ardern government need to start appreciating the new Auckland mayor.
We Need A Proper Constitution
She’s in the ground and it’s time.
Newshub’s incredibly bad gang take
Yesterday the Government announced a slate of new powers designed to address gang violence. Newshub chose that day to imply that Labour was soft on gangs because a gang member said on social media not to vote for National.
‘Training’ for an early grave
We’re sending 120 troops to Britain to ‘train’ raw recruits for the Ukraine killing grounds. For the Defence Generals, it’s an overseas trip to aid retention. For the Ukrainian conscripts, it’s a prelude to early death. It is cynical and criminal: we should be arguing for the war to stop, not keep it going ”to the death of the last Ukrainian.”
About the reversed GST Kiwisaver changes
National’s attack on requiring banks to charge GST on the provision of Kiwisaver services the same as smaller services is deeply cynical when its attacks on Kiwisaver in the past are considered.
Labour’s Ardern and Democrats’ Biden: Learnings
For those fishing around for a progressive playbook in this fractious world, Biden and Ardern are pretty similar. But Biden appears to be turning the fortunes of the Democrats around but Ardern is currently unrewarded. Is there anything to learn?
A week of sideshows
But the past week has been a week of sideshows. One international as elements of the right try to smear Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin for dancing. And one local where rogue Labour MP Gaurav Sharma is running out of excuses for not backing up the extraordinary claims he has made about the Labour Party.
Not A Ripple of Difference
The polls are out and the internal revolt last month to remove James Shaw as Greens co leader hasn’t made a ripple.
By Nature Unfair
You can be the most moral nation on earth and have no reward for it.
Bastards Versus Assholes
This post was written before Gaurav Sharma’s Herald article and should not be taken as validation of his comments. There are necessary bastards in political life, and in developed democracies compared to everywhere else ours are gentle as lambs
Ardern’s Leadership Generates Pacific Results
New Zealand has been overdue to show strong results in the Pacific Islands. Not a moment too soon, this is what Prime Minister Ardern delivered.
Really bad takes on the Green’s leadership issue
There have been some spectacularly bad takes on Green Party leadership issues by voices on the right and academia which were all shown to be spectacularly wrong after Chloe Swarbrick announced that she was not seeking the Green Party leadership.
The inside story of National’s civil war
Andrea Vance’s book Blood Bath provides an insider’s view of the carnage that erupted in the National Party from 2017 to 2021. And while things have calmed down under Christopher Luxon’s his weaknesses, including his glossing over the importance of policy detail and his tendency to bag businesses has been noted.
How Can Labour Win in 2023?
Right now Labour is preparing the ground for its run at 2023’s election with new policy. New policy must be wildly popular. What could make Labour popular enough to them back leading a third term in government?
Covid – time for red?
With a second wave of Covid infections starting and with new potentially more serious variants emerging it may be time for the Government to consider a return to the Covid red setting.
The benefits of Ardern’s recent overseas trips
Jacinda Ardern has just completed three overseas trips. The cumulative benefits for the country are extraordinary and I have never witnessed anything similar from another New Zealand leader. But local responses from sectors of the media have been muted. Why is this?
Ardern significantly improves EU Free Trade deal
Before her involvement in the European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiations Jacinda Ardern was accused of “scattering stardust” in a vain attempt to get an agreement over the line. If this is an example of Jacinda scattering stardust then long may she continue to do so.
Jacinda’s comments to NATO
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech/comments to NATO outlining our position on NATO, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multilateral diplomacy, our region, and nuclear proliferation. Plus of course she helped to finally get the EU trade treaty over the line. Her ‘comments’ are worth reading and commenting on because I suspect that they align pretty well to our societies general position.
Christopher Luxon’s many and varied abortion takes
National leader Christopher Luxon who has been previously reported as believing that abortion is murder, issued three public statements over the weekend trying to distance himself from the controversy caused by the US Supreme Court overturning of Rowe v Wade.
Matariki and Prime Minister Ardern
Plenty of experts will tell you about what Matariki ‘means to us’. Here’s what it means to Ardern.
How Democracy Weakens
It’s pretty commonplace now to observe that Prime Minister Ardern is doing well overseas but tanking at home.