Pressure was mounting over a failure to meet targets on a flagship house-building scheme. Humanity. But the pandemic was really the defining moment for Ardern and revealed that she is not the compassionate democracy defender she wanted us to believe. Not just the postman. Its heartening to see New Zealands Labour government finally acting on years of pleas and demands to take the popular measure of lifting benefits. The answer lies in our humanity. This interview was due to go to press the day the news of the Christchurch attacks emerged. Among the speakers this morning is 13-year-old Salma, who stands at the microphone and says, simply, of her father, Ashraf, who was killed: He was a really nice man. Farid Ahmeds wife, Husna, was killed at Al Noor Mosque, too. Here are some of the best-non fiction audiobooks read aloud by the authors themselves. Act of exraordnry violence. Already on our list? Racism exists, but it is not welcome here. Jacinda Ardern following a gathering for congregational Friday prayers and two minutes of silence for victims of the twin mosque massacre, in Christchurch on March 22, 2019. Shes not just leading a country, gushed Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg last year. New Zealands top talkback host has been listening to the new leader of the Labour Party. We are sitting on sofas in her office on the ninth floor of the Beehive, the circular building that houses the New Zealand government in Wellington. The second press conference I wrote on my phone on the way to Wellington.. All this wasnt about the nuts and bolts of practical policy. My belief in the humanity of New Zealanders has strengthened. It made similar cuts and restructuring to the university system, moving it further along in its transformation from a public good to a private service. She would boot me a lot., Ardern began her speech that day by casting back a year, when she had asked all of you to hold all of us, and myself, to account. The exact number of years Jacinda Ardern was a member of the radical hard left group the International Union of Socialist Youth is unknown, but given she turned 20 in 2001, its likely to be around 10 years. OPINION: It is important to understand political ideologies because they provide a lens into the underpinning beliefs and values that guide political goals and decision-making. In an event like this I can only assume, because Ive never been through one before theres not a lot of time available to think about the language you want to use. The government very cannily framed its budget as a reversal of 1991s Mother of all Budgets, one that would right the wrongs put in place by its author, the National Partys thenfinance minister Ruth Richardson, who designed maybe the most extreme case of welfare state retrenchment in the Western world. There is very little time to sit and think in those terms. Were deciding whether I can get away with jandal-wear for the latter part of the afternoon, she confided. Simple words, whispered by the injured from their hospital beds. What words express the grief of a city that has already known so much pain? But for the time being they feel like the concerns of another time, another galaxy. (3) private property rights. Her partner, Clarke Gayford, she smiles, is not impressed. By then, I had interviewed Ardern twice already: after a breakfast meeting at an Auckland hotel, and a few days earlier at Waitangi, on the northern tip of the North Island. Two police officers stand by the glass doors, cradling semi-automatic weapons. They werent alone: the head of BusinessNZ similarly suggested the government couldve been more generous with its benefit increases. Jacinda Ardern is transforming New Zealand into a socialist state. Its just the way I feel about people that talk like machine guns. She was raised a Mormon, but quit the church in her early 20s, principally because of its stance on homosexuality. Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern (/ d s n d r d r n / j-SIN-d ar-DURN; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. acinda Ardern grew up in the conservative, rural North Island town of Morrinsville. I stand here as a very proud member of the great socialist democratic Labour Party, proclaimed New Lynn MP Deborah Russell. Bring it on. That may not always be the case, but for now were making it work., As for being pronounced a game changer for women, Ardern welcomed the idea she might inspire others, but was eager to present a truthful picture. Opinion. What would she like to see other nations, other leaders, draw from New Zealands experiences? We only had a short amount of time to prepare.. The Union's focus was human rights and equal opportunities for the world's children. If you could see the amount of reading that is required in that role. A place that is diverse, that is welcoming, that is kind and compassionate. Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's young politicians, Sarah Hall sits down with her to find out just what her aspirations are. Violence, and extremism in all its forms, is not welcome here. So for me, that means always having a mind on, yes, the policy work, yes, the domestic work but actually what legacy do you leave through some of those bigger, overarching decisions as well? In 2008, Ardern was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, a role that took her around the world. Succinctly, steelily, the prime minister framed what had happened in her own terms. You need to remove some of the politics sometimes and just think about humanity. In the interests of democracy, we have transcribed his words below. Together with the right-wing parties attempt at parliamentary red-baiting, its the logical next step for New Zealands conservative MPs, who have tried to dent prime minister Jacinda Arderns stunning popularity with a series of unsuccessful and increasingly lame talking points cribbed from the US Republican Party, from fearmongering about a UN migration pact, to attacks on wokeness, to race-baiting. To see people from across society, people who maybe have never even known anyone who goes to a mosque, come out with the flowers and the donations and say: this is not the New Zealand we know and love.). It looks like a pout every time.. When she was made leader of the Labour party, with weeks to go before the 2017 election, the campaign was built around a self-described relentlessly positive outlook. The piece that Larry [Williams] referred to this morning, Ive watched a couple of times, showed it to some other people over the weekend and they were aghast. Jeremy Corbyns leadership led to a surge in left-wing membership in the UK Labour Party and ongoing [], A journal of theory and strategy published by Jacobin, The New Zealand Socialists Who Govern Like Neoliberals, Taking Back Left Parties From the Brahmins, Jacinda Ardern Wont Save New Zealands Working Class, Jacinda-Mania Isnt Enough for New Zealands Workers, Mori, or the Environment, New Zealands Coronavirus Response Isnt as Great as It Seems. There is evidence of her having said comrade. And over the last two weeks we have shown that, you have shown that, in your actions. t Waitangi in early February, I had asked Ardern about the international attention she had attracted for being young, for being a new mother. I think, as leaders, sometimes were unaware of our reach and power, she says. Were deciding whether I can get away with jandal-wear for the latter part of the afternoon, she confided. But, otherwise, I dont tend to draw parallels. She paused. In the reception area, a staffers preschooler son buzzes back and forth on a bike. We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist and that what is said on them is not the responsibility of the place where they are published. That position allowed her to travel to such places as China, Algeria, India, and Lebanon. ), (My greetings to the whole of Ngi Tahu.). And women and girls around the world will be the better for it., From a closer proximity, and speaking before the Christchurch attacks, Gayford told me that what he found most impressive was his partners grip on the minutiae. And its good to see them, albeit slowly, adopting the commonsense point that putting money in the pockets of the least well-off is actually good for the economy. No friend of free speech, she had little regard for public opinion and no respect for those with a contrary . Following the Christchurch attacks, Ardern was asked at a press conference if she agreed with Trumps downplaying of the rise of white supremacy. Its intuitive. 2. Jacinda Ardern, former Young Labour president and political advisor, has just been elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth - a group encompassing socialist, social democratic and Labour Party youth organisations from more than 100 countries. I struggle not to smile, Ardern said through clenched teeth. Who had sought refuge, or sought a better life for themselves or their families. What did it mean? In the past weeks, New Zealand has reckoned with its own history. For a school project, Jacinda interviewed former Member of Parliament Marilyn Waring and was very impressed by how friendly and helpful Ms Waring was. She doesnt run out of words. It felt very deliberate: was it? Accordingly, to understand Arderns political ideology it is important to revisit 2008, when she entered Parliament as a Labour list-MP. I pointed this out when we met again in Auckland, and Ardern leaned back with a sigh, knowing where this was going. She calls herself a progressive. When the shooting began, he threw himself to the ground. But the answer to them lies in a simple concept that is not bound by domestic borders, that isnt based on ethnicity, power base or even forms of governance. he prime minister was deep in conversation with her press secretary when she arrived for the formal part of our interview at Waitangi in February. Talking to mourners after the national remembrance service in Christchurch. They are us. Of course she needed to project New Zealands voice, but her focus was on domestic priorities. Use the key to unlock the secret message! I dont know. Its a fair assumption to suggest that at the time of entering Parliament, an MPs political views and beliefs are set and are the motivation to enter politics in the first place. But what I do know is Ardern and her comrades provided the above answers in 2009and now she is leading us into the economic recovery of post-Covid-19. The occasion for this supposed reverse metamorphosis was the highly anticipated budget day, with suggestions that, after three years of treading water, the government was gearing up to announce something major. Socialism is based on the theory that incentives don't matter! Dozens of buses are parked sideways around the perimeter, forming makeshift ramparts. In the wake of New Zealands worst terror attack, the prime minister talks frankly about the aftermath, global scrutiny and how a nation heals. But she is verbally sharp. But she is done with that kind of question. Im a socialist! piped up Tukituki MP Anna Lorck at one point. She is sharp mentally. We never have been. But I am pragmatic about how much time that sometimes takes. The optimism tends to win out. She keeps talking and she talks fast. More than that, the countrys public debt is low, as are interest rates and, therefore, the costs of servicing it. To that end, they successfully shrunk the size of the state and the scope of its involvement in the economy, and they looked to make putting debt and surpluses ahead of people a permanent feature of politics. I said, Can you please call 111. Comrades means something. Whether or not I thought he would necessarily take on board what I said, is another question. It just wasnt something she thought about, she said, hardly at all. Branko Marcetic is a Jacobin staff writer and the author of Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden. Our challenge now is to make the very best of us, a daily reality. People tend to know what that means.. And so I see that there was a weight of expectation there. By the way, I have used "comrade" because it is how union members referred to themselves throughout the 2009 meeting. Well, considering no night last week finished before midnight and some mornings started before five for her, I can understand, he replies. Given Ardern and her comrades had progressive answers to the financial crisis, those answers might now be used to guide us through the turmoil and hardship of post-Covid-19. I get asked: Do you compare yourself to X or Y politician? and Ill then get a string of male politicians from around the world mostly, to be fair, because there arent too many females. The reality was that I went down into the shed, pulled out my fishing box and took out some hooks, Gayford told me earlier this year. I said what I needed to say, she says, pausing and taking a slow, diplomatic breath of air, her hands clasped around her knees. (I spoke to Clark a few days after the Christchurch attack, and she told me Arderns response had resonated because it was authentic. (I spoke to Clark a few days after the Christchurch attack, and she told me Arderns response had resonated because it was authentic. She wooed the world with talk of kindness and compassion, while at home ruling like a dictator. I would like to just do my job and be judged on being the prime minister of New Zealand, said Ardern. The 50 names of the dead are read aloud, the only other sound the whirring of a police helicopter in the distance. Thenprime minister Jim Bolger aimed to arrest New Zealands drift from work to welfare, end what he believed was permanent dependency on the state, and achieve a permanent and substantial reduction in the financial and human cost of welfarism.. Jacinda loved living on the orchard in Murupara and learned to drive a tractor before she could drive a car! She worked only very indirectly for Blair, she said. They are the publisher. It was a tough choice between being a clown (because they have so much fun) or a scientist (like her big sister Louise), but when she realised her passion for helping others, Jacinda chose politics. The sun was beating down and Neve, in a blue bonnet and spotted dress, clucked away happily. The co-creators of Hero of the Sea interview each other about writing, illustrating and their latest collaboration. You know, the Muslim community was so obviously targeted, and they wear their faith so openly., There was no need to deliberate on her decision not to use the name of the terrorist, either: It just seemed obvious to me. She had received no report, no advice reflecting the wealth of research that urges political leaders and the media to deny terrorists the notoriety they crave. And we also ask that the condemnation of violence and terrorism turns now to a collective response. Its 10, 11 oclock each night, going through cabinet papers. Its been folded in half, and in half again, and again. She said this morning it doesnt mean anything, its just Im sorry, it does. At Buckingham Palace with the Queen in April 2017. I just know we have a lot of work to do to make that universal.. It focused on her pledge to make 2019 a year of delivery, and some signs that the halo of the Jacindamania that brought her to office had begun to dim. Bernie Sanderss two presidential campaigns sparked a series of elections of democratic socialists at every level of US government. Richardson used several different economic issues including a higher-than-expected deficit forecast and a recent credit-rating downgrade to finish the job, making steep welfare cuts of around 2030 percent the centerpiece of the budget. And it took aim at New Zealands old-age pension system, raising the retirement age from sixty to sixty-five and freezing payments for two years. As if becoming a mother and prime minister were not challenging enough, Ardern found herself hailed as a standard bearer for women everywhere. Team play is more important than ever in politics. She was elected uncontested at IUSY's world congress held in the Dominican Republic yesterday. Looking for your kid's next great read? And there is little sign that, beyond emergency measures necessitated by the pandemic, the party is planning to permanently re-expand the size and scope of government. Now, the New Zealand Labour Party is getting in on the act, too. The end of Ruthenasia, cheered the Labour-aligned Standard, referring to the nickname given to the brutal austerity program initiated by Richardsons budget. And skyrocketing living costs, thanks especially to an out-of-control housing market, have made these numbers worth significantly less since WEAGs recommendations. Toby Manhire is the editor of New Zealand online magazine the Spinoff. 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