New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said that she will resign from her position in a shock announcement. At her party’s annual meeting, Jacinda Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job.
“It’s time,” she said, adding that during the summer break she reflected over whether she had the energy to continue leading the country and had concluded that she did not.
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“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. 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,” she said.
Jacinda Ardern's term as prime minister will conclude no later than February 7.
“I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Asked how she would like New Zealanders to remember her leadership, she 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,” Jacinda Ardern said.