>

Hopefully her resignation is for the reasons stated. The worry would be she is privy to information about an impending future catastrophe of some sort. Personally, if I knew the shit was going to hit the fan, Iʻd quit my job to spend time with my family.
From an election timing POV; if you're going to resign, now is a reasonable choice. 
\~1 month to shuffle the chairs, \~6 months to re-establish the new PM and cabinet in the media and public mind, then into the election campaign. >

Problem is Labour doesn’t have anyone nearly as charismatic as Adern, who has sucked up so much oxygen as an outgoing and personable leader. It was the same with Helen Clark, perhaps moreso. Hard to see Labour winning from here. They’re out for two cycles in my estimate. Feel free to set a RemindMe! >

!RemindMe two cycles >

Hi, I understand that you need a bicycle? >

Nah give the bike a rest, for it is two tired >

The fuck I just witnessed >

Kickstandup comedy >

Came back into the office to start 2023, and said "fuck this". >

Relatable >

I first read that as 'Jesus is Jacinda' and was a bit confused before I remembered about French. >

It’s easy to forget about the French but they will be quick to remind you again ;) >


She said there was no secret scandal behind her resignation. “I am human. We give as much as we can for as long as we can and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time. >

I wish all politicians recognized when it was time for them to move on. >

In the USA, we'd have no politicians left. >

God, wouldn't that be nice... >

Yes it would considered we have people as old as dinosaurs still serving and they know damn well they have no business being in office. >

Nobody should be in politics for 40 years >

I'm so desperately looking forward to never having to hear about anyone's Vietnam service in a presidential debate again >

Thankfully, we’ll have Moon War service to take its place! >

We've already got wars like desert storm, I'm just tired of having the exact same generational cohort be in charge of politics for three decades >

We could have as much as ten more years of this shit. Who knows when the octagenarians in congress will finally die, and we've already seen some people stay in office despite severe cognitive decline. >

Kiwi here, there are a lot of mixed feelings about her in NZ. No denying that she was dealt awful cards (Whakaari eruption, Christchurch terror attack, and COVID!) not too mention she had a baby early into her first term. 
No denying that she’s handles a crisis like a champ and true leader. Unfortunately her and her party have fallen very short when it comes to the day to day, Labour look unlikely to win the next election (although still possible), but they were leaking popularity like a sieve. 
As a person, she seems like a great human and I’ll miss her leadership for that. As an effective politician she’s had very big wins and very big failures, mixed feelings there.
Either way I just hope like hell that National (the opposition) don’t get in. >


Either way I just hope like hell that National (the opposition) don’t get in.

They will, mate, the Labour-National swing is as sure as the tides. David Seymour, on the other hand, is a concerning wildcard. >

"The decisions that have had to be made have been continual and they have been weighty, but I am not leaving because it was hard. Had that been the case I probably would have departed two months into the job," Ardern says.
"I am leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead, and also when you are not. I know what this job takes and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice."
--------------------------  
Shes only human. Hard choice to make. >

Reading between the lines. You don't just get burnt out. Politics wears on your sould and can make you a worse person and change you permanently. I think it's taxing at a deeper level. >

I think this is right, as long as you’re not a narcissist or sociopath, which I truly feel like so many politicians are (obviously not Jacinda). >

Lookin at you McCarthy… >

Or Santos >

eh, he came into it fucked up. hasn’t been at it long enough or in any role of importance for anything to weigh on him. he’s probably just a pathological liar. >

hes garbage >

9 months before the election.
How much time must there before the next election so that the current leader’s resignation isn’t considered “before an election”? >

It never will be enough time. The media has to sensationalize to get attention. >

to be clear, the actual article headline is:

Jacinda Ardern quits as Prime Minister: Labour to elect new leader, Grant Robertson won’t seek role, general election date October 14

unless it has been updated, OP editorialized it. >

The headline now is that. It was breaking news, the headline has been updated multiple times as more information came out. >

So part of the information that came out is the date of the election? >

So for any New Zealanders on here, why is she resigning? >

Mix of things. A very hard 6 years of being leader, and several missteps plus polling badly. 
Its a strange one where people wanted them to do more and specifically more socialist things yet will punish them by voting more right wing >


very hard 6 years of being leader,

the chch terrorist attack, that volcano explosion, her young child and covid in 6 years is too much for anyone. I would be drained too >

Respectfully it’s more like she has seen the writing on the wall. I feel like she would have stayed if the polling supported her, but even that’s turned against her. 
It’s only on Reddit where people think Ardern is perfect and not had any problems. Just like every other politician however, she has done many wrong things, least of things like housing, which many people feel aggrieved about. >

yeah she fucked up a lot too, like her lack of support for the cannabis referendum, the housing crisis and so on.
she's still better than the other alternatives >

See this is what is confusing me as an American. I thought she was popular, but apparently not by reading the NZ people in here. The problem is, it sounds like all the complaints say she failed to meet a bunch of promises that a right wing government would actively oppose. So why is it likely she would lose? Its like "OK u have fucked up on these big issues but the fuck up is exactly what the right would do if they had a choice". 
Oh so you are just like us. Ok I rubberducked my way into getting it. >

she won her last election by an historical landslide, got enough political capital to potentially annex the west island on her charisma alone and then she spent it on basically ... nothing?
I voted for her (and also voted yes on both refs) but there are no excuses. Left wing voters are dissapointed and might go back to the greens and right wing boomer voters will go back to national now that they have a leader that doesnt have the charisma of a rock  like Collins so there's no way she will win the next election. 
Her quitting is the only scenario where labour might win the next election >


she won her last election by an historical landslide, got enough political capital to potentially annex the west island on her charisma alone and then she spent it on basically ... nothing?

That's what's really disappointing. There was so much potential yet nearly all of it didn't really come to anything. 
She's much better than the alternatives (wages in NZ have risen twice as fast under her - even before covid - than with the previous government) which makes this even worse. >

Remembering the reason for our inflation is wage rises.  Not corporate greed. Not oil prices. Not global supply chain issues.  But NZ domestic wage. /s. >

She’s resigning as NZ Labour’s main rival party, the centre-right National Party, has taken the lead in the polls since about this time last year. She must see the writing on the wall and is resigning to give Labour new leadership before the next election this year. Shame to see her go, but nothing lasts forever. >

I don't know how Kiwis feel towards her or her leadership, but, personally, her speech was bittersweet and commendable, and hearing what she hopes is remembered of her leadership is certainly what I'll remember (although I'm aware i am not Kiwi, so it matters less)

Asked how she would like New Zealanders to remember her leadership, she said “as someone who always tried to be kind.”
“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go,” Ardern said. >

I think most people's views towards are also bittersweet, the country probably would be worse if she hadn't dealt with covid as she had. At the same time she annoyed the radicals and the conservatives and chose not to take a side, trying to remain moderate which alienated a good percentage of both from the party. She also hardly dealt with the largest domestic issue before covid which was the housing crisis. >

Almost every developed nation is dealing with a housing crises and inflation. There are east real solutions to these problems. >

That doesn't excuse labour's and the governments lack of any real effort to stop this. They had 5 years, 2 before covid and in that time they did very little because they are too scared to annoy the oligarchs and landlords. >

Any solution that truly aims to tackle the problem would be very unpopular with homeowners and thus be political suicide. >

To give context,       

Her party, Labour, is unlikely to win the next election. The National party did rather well during the 2008 GFC with the economy, while other countries were hurting real bad, so New Zealanders will be remembering that this time round      
She spent a lot of time dealing with crisis situations. Covid-19, Christchurch Terrorist Attacks, White Island, House prices, her cat (the "First Cat" of NZ) getting run over by a car. Her qualifications in public relations got labour the win when she took over as leader originally and it was seen as a major turning point or boost in the election that resulted in her first term as prime minister. However people are now tired of hearing bad news, "be kind" etc from her.     
The next election is going to be in October. This gives her replacement a good 8 months to become known to the public as a leader and prime minister going into the election. An NZ election campaign lasts about ~8 weeks.    
However Labour is expected not to win. NZ uses the MMP electoral system and so (summarised) seats are assigned based on the percentage of votes a party gets in the election.    
Having an established leader will give Labour more recognition and better chances at winning parliament seats.  If people see the party in disarray with poor leadership, they are likely to loose their own voters to national.    
Both Labour and National are centre parties. They create a coalition / team with another party to pool enough votes together to form a government. Its the other parties that generally cause the policies to deviate slightly from centre, or create a specific issue to be dealt with or a law to be passed during their coalition negotiations immediately after an election.    
Its likely National will win but will need the Act Party in a coalition to get enough votes to form a government. Act is very much libertarian and anti taxation. So it will be a good mix of a tax cut and infrastructure/healthcare investment that people will be voting for.    
Labour will probably get 25-35% of the seats in the house and vote on laws etc as they see fit, and not be able to do much for 6 years by which time everyone will be sick of National and want a change again. >

FTA: 
She said there was no secret scandal behind her resignation. “I am human. We give as much as we can for as long as we can and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.
“I am leaving because with such a privileged job comes a big responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead - and also when you’re not.”
Cool. >


“With holding such a privileged role comes responsibility, including the responsibility to know when you’re the right person to lead, and also when you’re not.”

I wish more leaders knew when it was time to step down.
She was thrown into the leadership role of her party quite suddenly back in 2017. Labour was insanely successful in the last election with her at the helm. I know Kiwis don’t all have the same rose-coloured view of her as many of us overseas do, but I think everyone can agree she’s been one of the better world leaders in the past decade.

“I am human. We give as much as we can for as long as we can and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.” 

If she doesn’t have any petrol left in the tank, that’s as good a reason as any to step down. >

As someone not from New Zealand, I can't comment on the political context to this or whether or not this is good for the country, but I seriously commend her for her response to some of the toughest times New Zealand faced, from the Christchurch shooting, to the pandemic, to the White Island volcano eruption - her leadership during these was exceptional and enviable. >

Yeah she did well on those things, she definitely deserved the landslide victory last election. 
And when you take into account how incompetent some of the labour ministers actually are, its a testament to how good of a leader she was during those times lol >

Regardless what you think of some choices she's made, you have to respect any politician that voluntarily gives up power without trying to cling to it till they have no options left >

She is just too unpopular now and they will lose the election. If she could choose someone who is competent to run the health system other than the slime Andrew Little she would have my vote. >


she would have my vote

Living in a country where picking a right-wing candidate doesn't mean picking a candidate leaning towards fascism must be great. >

Yeah come try it! You'll have to rent though :( >

And itll have to be a shed if you aren't rich >

Has she resigned rather than lose the next election? >

Essentially, she's polling very badly right now, like 15% below the opposition. >

For clarification: she's polling 10% above everyone else, her party is polling 6% below the leading party, and a likely left-wing coalition is polling 7% below a likely right-wing coalition. >

Preferred PM means nothing though, you don't vote for PM, only party. John Key occasionally polls around 5% in preferred PM even though he hasn't been active in politics for like 6 years. >

Maybe Reddit’s circlejerk of our country can stop now? 
She had lots of issues and promises that she and her party never delivered on, was too gun shy with policies despite having the first ever majority in NZ MMP history, but goddamn her response to Christchurch, Whakaari, and COVID was a sight to behold and made me damn proud. 
Not our greatest PM by a long shot, nor will she be the most revered, but for the cards she was dealt she did a good enough job. >

Yeah. I definitely think she fell off towards the end of her term, but she dealt with some seriously heavy shit in a very short amount of time, and did so very effectively, speaking objectively. 
Not to mention I've never seen such an extreme amount of hate for a kiwi leader. It's honestly insane just how many people were saying so many fucking awful things about her, all the damn time. I'm super worried about what comes next for us. I can't think of anyone in labour that has a chance to stand up and be a good PM, and I've been anti-Nats since I started voting. Even if they had a good leader, they've changed leadership like they've changed their underwear over the last few years.
Not to mention many analysts are saying we're going into a recession despite our economy still not fully recovering after COVID. The next few years are going to be very uncertain for sure. >

Australian here. I remember what it was like when we had Julia Gillard as PM. If the person who replaces ~~Jacinta~~ Jacinda happens to not be a woman, you'll see that hatred drop right down, I'm sure. >

We've had 3 Female PMs - Shipley, Clark and Ardern. Clark is still well beloved here. >

I didn't realise. What do you think is different between Clark and Ardern to explain the different reaction? >

Time mostly. Clark wasn't very well liked at the end of her term but even the conservatives nominated her to be UN Sec General and supported her all the way. 
Ardern will be remembered fine once time passes but she wasn't anywhere near the calibre of PM Clarke was. 
Gillard is an interesting case since a lot of Labor voters hated her for knifing Kevin and thus still has a lot resentment from that era. >

Imagine leading our country through a volcanic eruption, it's worst ever terrorist attack, and a global pandemic. Plus balancing the day to day necessities of high profile public office with starting a family. I'd have been flattened within six weeks, and she's managed since 2017. Respect. >

I really, really hope we get a strong contender from Labour in her place. There's no way I'm voting for Luxon, he's a rich, white, balding old man who has strong religious values and looks like a smug thumb. >

Kinda sad. 
I know I shouldn't be a fan of politicians, But Ardern Challenges that principle. 
Must be nice for her and the family to step out of the politics fire hose tho. >

There are some here who are celebrating her resignation, I don't believe those people realize that there aren't many, if any, decent politicians in the current house who can step into those shoes.
I don't know anybody. The current picks are awful.
Luxton is a hypocrite with no moral charm. David Seymour is too awkward and out of touch.
The Greens have two good leaders, and NZ First have good ideas, but there's uncle Winnie. >

She’s out of spoons. >

Shame to see a decently competent leader go, but it is always good to see a ruler recognise the limits of their own humanity. I hope she transitions to retirement with grace and can lead a fulfilling life after politics. She was one of a handful of recent leaders I'd generally approved of. >

Probably didn't pay enough for the bullshit she had to put up with. >

When you are done. You are done.
Way to go out on your own terms and get your successor in office >

To be fair no one wants to be PM during the recovery phase of covid. All the bills are due. And if the economy tanks they’ll get the blame. 
National will likely win strip all the funding out of social services offer tax breaks to the rich and blame labour for the recession. 
They’ll do that for a term. Then have nothing new to offer other than a tough on crime stance to counter the surge in crime caused by a lack of social services. 
And labour will come back in. The cycle continues. >

6 years of running a country, especially with what she’s dealt with, is fucking hard (very simply put). There’s obviously more to it from a political point of view, but this seems like the right thing to do for all politicians. >

Asked how she would like New Zealanders to remember her leadership, Ardern said “as someone who always tried to be kind.”
“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go,” Ardern said.
(we need more leaders like this) >

Funny how most of the comments here are fawning over her while the NZers have a more measured response. >

It’s Reddit. Showing an astonishing lack of awareness of facts on the ground although they claim to be intellectuals, and just as left as any Western European >

Serious question? Was she going to lose anyway? >

Yes >

As a Kiwi I have not always agreed with her. I voted for her (or more correctly, her party) once, and also didn’t vote for her (party) the other time. Nonetheless I think not many of us can deny that she led the country well during many times of crisis in the past five years. Thank you for that - now hope you spend some time with family, get married, and rest up >

Imagine if your own country could be lead by such an empathetic, sincere and caring person as her.  I only know of a few politicians who are so sincere.  That's all I really want in a leader - sincerity. Never had the option of voting for a sincere leader yet in my life. >

Why do I get the sense sometimes that world leaders outside the US in smaller countries can actually act like real people lol is that a real thing or just my perception >

Didn't she kind of botch everything outside of her covid response? Some kiwis I met said she got all the love for that (among pro-lockdown folks at least), but neglected to address most of the things she campaigned on >

"Yes we can" became "Well, actually, it's complicated" >

“Well, we could,” >

Her government was getting unpopular and she was likely going to lose the election later this year. Now her party will almost certainly lose. >

Exit stage right your job is done..