You could have seen this coming a mile away.
The only surprise is that this didn’t happen sooner.
Suddenly and without any notice, Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is up for re-election, announced that she is stepping down as of February 7 2023. She is not staying in office until the election in the fall and will remain in parliament until April.
“I’m leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility,” she claimed. “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. It’s that simple.”
The announcement came after her party held an all-hands-on-deck conference.
From the sounds of it, her party demanded she step down because of her policies during the pandemic. In the video below, it appears she doesn’t seem happy about stepping down.
The Post Millenial reported:
During her time as leader, her government imposed on the people of New Zealand some of the strictest Covid-19 restrictions in the world. At the onset of the pandemic, for example, books were deemed “non-essential” as Ardern and other officials attempted to keep people in their homes.
Then in August 2021, following a six month period where no cases were recorded, Ardern sent the entire country into Level 4 lockdown for three days when one man in Auckland tested positive.
Those who chose not to adhere to the draconian policies were hit with heavy penalties, including fines of up to US$8,400.
Ardern was also an ardent supporter of tightening restrictions on New Zealanders’ online activity, calling for increased censorship.
After years of clamping down on the freedoms of her citizens, Ardern’s popularity began to plummet. A December 2022 poll revealed that her support was down to just 33 percent.
🚨BREAKING: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has resigned.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 19, 2023
Centrists and conservatives in the country now seem to hold the lead in the upcoming election in October.
