Jacinda Ardern ‘driven from office’ by unprecedented hatred and constant abuse, politicians say
Jacinda Ardern said she “slept well for the first time in a long” after announcing she was stepping down as prime minister.
The New Zealand leader revealed she was resigning from the role on Thursday telling reporters she had “nothing left in the tank”.
Ms Ardern said: “I’ll have to admit I slept well for the first time in a long time last night. But yes… still a range of emotions. So of course I feel, you know sad, but also I do have sense of relief.
“I actually feel deeply humbled by the response that I’ve received. To have those messages of gratitude has been really moving for me and for my family.
“I’ll go home for a little bit and just pack, get ready for a bit of time in Wellington. Focus for the team obviously is on selecting a new leader of the Labour Party and therefore a new prime minister for New Zealand.
“It’s an incredibly important decision and the team is very, very focused.”
And some political allies in New Zealand have suggested she took the decision to leave due to the level of abuse she received during her time in power.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said she felt “deep sadness” on learning of the resignation.
“The pressures on Prime Ministers are always great, but in this era of social media, clickbait, and 24/7 media cycles, Jacinda has faced a level of hatred and vitriol which in my experience is unprecedented in our country,” she said.
“Our society could now usefully reflect on whether it wants to continue to tolerate the excessive polarisation which is making politics an increasingly unattractive calling.”
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Maori party co-leader, thanked Ms Adern for her service, but said she had faced “ugly attacks”.
“It is a sad day for politics where an outstanding leader has been driven from office for constant personalisation and vilification,” she said.
“Her whanau [family] have withstood the ugliest attacks over the last two years with what we believe to be the most demeaning form of politics we have ever seen.”
Ms Ardern has received widespread praise from leaders around the world after announcing she would be stepping down but has faced mounting political pressures at home in recent months.
Her Labour party has been struggling in the polls, with a Taxpayers Union-Curia poll released on Friday using data before Ms Ardern stepped down saw the party’s popularity fall to 31.7%, down from 1.4% last month, with the opposition New Zealand National Party on 37.2%.
Nevertheless, Ms Ardern’s announcement that 7 February would be her last day as prime minister after five and a half years in office came as a shock to the nation of five million people own.
Asked if misogyny played a role in her decision to leave, Ms Ardern said: “No, it did not, and my strong message to women in leadership, and girls who may be considering leadership in the future is: This is a place where foundations have been laid long before me to make it possible for us to be in these roles in a way that in the past it just wasn’t in the same way.
Read more on Jacinda Ardern:
Jacinda Ardern may be dodging humiliation by quitting now
From Jacindamania to an empty tank, how NZ PM’s empathy defined her role
Why Jacinda Ardern’s ‘rare’ admission about her mental health matters
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Ardern breaks down as she announces resignation
“You can have a family and be in these roles, you can lead in your own style. Is there more work to do? Yes, but that was not the cause for my departure.”
Lawmakers in her Labour Party will vote for a new leader on Sunday.
If no candidate gets at least two-thirds support from the caucus, then the leadership contest will go to the wider party membership.
Ms Ardern has recommended the party chose her replacement by the time she steps down.
The next general election in New Zealand is scheduled for 14 October.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
Read more:
The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions
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Nuclear sites targeted in Iran
There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
Read more from Sky News:
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US-UK trade deal is ‘done’, Donald Trump says
Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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