Ardern to step down February

[king1]

She does look exhausted though; most politicians do towards the end of their time as a politician.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/j...ew-zealand

"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.

Over the past year, Ardern has faced a significant increase in threats of violence, particularly from conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine groups infuriated by the country’s vaccine mandates and Covid-19 lockdowns. She said, however, that the increased risk associated with the job were not behind her decision to step down.

“I don’t want to leave the impression that the adversity you face in politics is the reason that people exit. Yes, it does have an impact. We are humans after all, but that was not the basis of my decision,” she said.



Ardern said she had no future plans, other than to spend more time with her family.

She thanked her partner, Clarke Gayford, and daughter Neve, whom she gave birth to while holding office, as “the ones that have sacrificed the most out of all of us”.

She wants to be remembered as kind, tell that to the thousands of New Zealanders that she wouldn't let back into the country, or was she kind to all the people that had dying relatives that she wouldn't let them go and say their last goodbyes to. Yes thats what a kind person is 

The other side of that coin is she could have been kind by letting everyone come back to NZ in the middle of an outbreak and potentially causing the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of New Zealanders.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

and iirc they did announce the borders would be getting locked down and told everyone to get home ASAP.