Poor Jacinda Ardern, defeated by her own vanity
The Telegraph says When you write on politics, upsetting people is an occupational hazard. Even so, sometimes you can get taken aback. Nothing I have written before or since has provoked so much outrage as a piece I wrote here in October 2020 predicting that Jacinda Ardern’s zero-Covid policy in New Zealand would turn out to be a disaster. The ensuing Twitterstorm seemed to involve more people than inhabited New Zealand.
That was the point about Ardern. She wasn’t just Prime Minister of New Zealand – and a popular one at her peak – she was a global pin-up for progressive values. She was the beacon of hope among those on the Left who had been destabilised by Donald Trump, Brexit and Boris Johnson. For many, she was seen as a breed apart among global leaders: one who was untouched by the fatal brew of ego, arrogance and self-interest which they saw as inbred into many male politicians.
Ardern’s undoing was in that she appeared to believe that herself. I don’t claim to be able to read her mind, but I would guess that her real reason for resigning ahead of New Zealand’s general election later this year was not primarily that she wanted to collect her daughter from playgroup every day, as she has intimated, but that she could no longer cope with her halo having slipped. When you have been built up into a living saint it must come as a shock to find yourself under attack for failing to address the same old problems which afflict less-progressive national leaders. Inflation, a stuttering economy and rising crime are hardly unique to New Zealand, but they showed that there was nothing magical about Ardern’s politics – the only difference is that in her case she lacked the toughness to weather serious adversity.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/19/poor-jacinda-ardern-defeated-vanity/
