WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a global figurehead of progressive politics, shocked the country on Thursday by annou­ncing she would resign from office in a matter of weeks.

The 42-year-old said she no longer had “enough in the tank”.

“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,” she said at a meeting of members of her Labour Party.

Ardern said she would step down no later than February 7, less than three years after winning a landslide election to secure her second term in office.

Since that 2020 peak of “Jacindamania”, Ardern’s government has struggled — its popularity hampered by soaring inflation, a looming recession and a resurgent conservative opposition.

Ardern won international acclaim for her em­­pathetic handling of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre, in which 51 Mu­­slim worshippers were kil­led and another 40 wou­nded. Later that year she was praised for her decisive leadership during the fatal White Island (also known as Whakaari) volcano eruption.

She said she would continue to serve as an MP until then. Her departure leaves a void at the top of the Labour party.

New Zealand will choose its next prime minister in a general election held on October 14, Ardern announced.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2023