Vause.
>>, She was the youngest woman
ever elected as the head of
government, the second to get
birth while in office and for
the past five, years set a
series of unprecedented
challenges.
A short time ago, Jacinda
ardern announced you'll be
stepping down as New Zealand's
prime minister within two
weeks.
Speaking at a retreat in Napier
on the north island, she choked
up as she described as her time
in office is taken a toll and
left are exhausted.
She also announced a general
election.
>> This summer I had hoped to
find a way to peer not just for
another year but another two
because that is what this year
requires.
I have not been able to do that,
and so today I am announcing
that I will not be seeking
reelection and that my term as
prime minister will conclude no
later than the 7th of February.
Ardern praised around the world
for her handling of the covid
pandemic and her personal self
speaking for the heart,
especially during moments of
crisis, like the mass shooting
at two mosques in 2019.
Within weeks, ardern and her
labour party bed semiautomatic
weapons, and while her party
grew around the world, and
response a housing question
inflation Epstein her before
ratings fall at home.
CNN's Kristie Lu stout has more
from Hong Kong.
Her last day of prime minister
is a few weeks now, but why,
what has been the reaction?
>> This was a bombshell
announcement, and it came as a
surprise to many people inside
New Zealand and all around the
world.
Today, this press conference we
heard from the prime minister
of New Zealand, Jacinda ardern,
who said she does not have the
energy to seek reelection in
October.
She said that the last five
years, she's been serving as
prime minister of New Zealand,
she has given her absolute all,
and it has taken a lot from
her.
She added that she will stand
down as a leader of our country
in early February, and she also
had this to say.
Take a listen.
>> I am in my six year of
office, and and for each of
these years, I have given my
absolute all.
I believe that leading a
country is the most privileged
job anyone could ever have, but
also one of the more
challenging.
You cannot and should not do it,
unless you have a full tank,
plus a bit in reserved for
those unexpected challenges.
>> Ardern since she's not
leaving the job because it's
hard, she went on to list the
number of once in a generation
crises that she and her
government had to deal with the
last five and a half years,
including the covid-19 pandemic,
including the deadly volcanic
eruption and including of
course the horrific 2019
christchurch terror attacks
when a far-right terrorist
targeted to mosque in the city,
taking the lives of 51 people,
and she responded with empathy
and decisive action.
We have been monitoring
international reaction to this
announcement, and we heard this
via tweet by the prime minister
of Australia.
Let's bring it up for you,
saying this, Jacinda ardern as
shown the world how the league
with intellect and strength.
She is demonstrated that
empathy and insight are
powerful leadership qualities.
Jacinda ardern as been a fierce
advocate for New Zealand and an
inspiration for so many and a
great friend.
On the essential stage, Jacinda
ardern has been heralded for
her Progressive politics at
home, domestically, inside new
Zealand, she's been doing with
a number of political headwinds,
including voters focusing on
rising prices, inflation, the
cost of property rising, crime,
et cetera, but she will be
standing down as leader of our
country on February the 7th, as
for her next plans
professionally, she says no
plans but, personally, she does.
In her address announcement
earlier today, she says she
looks forward for being there
for her four-year-old daughter
when she sits off to school
later this year and two, in her
words, finally marry her
partner.
Back to you.
>> She said that if she was
going to leave because the jump
is hard, she would have left in
the first two months, which I
thought was a great quote.
Kristie Lu stout, thank you.
For more, we're joined now by
Bryce Edwards, political
science this at Victoria
university.
They were being with us.
One of the first questions we
had here when the story first
broke was what's the real
reason?
What's really going on here?
Here she is.
>> I know that there will be
much discussion in the
aftermath of this decision as
to what the so-called real
reason was.
I can tell you that what I am
sharing today is it, the only
interesting angle that you will
find is that after going on six
years of some big challenges, I
am human.
Politicians are human.
We give all that we can for as
long as we can, and then it's
time.
For me --
>> Is it possible that ardern
has the ability that most
politicians lack, which is
knowing when it is time to go?
>> I think a good leader as one
to go, is what she said today,
and we've got a precedent for
this.
One of the previous prime
ministers, John key, left after
about six years of power in
one.
He left when he was still very
popular, so I think the real
reason that ardern is going is
because she lost popularity.
The polls here have really
plummeted for our government
and for her personally.
It's after the covid crisis
that she won 50% of the vote,
which was a historic high, but
in recent months, her support
has gone down to 42%, about a
third of the support is gone,
and it's going to be a very
tough election for the
government when we got an
election day coming up in
October, and I think she knew
that it was very unlikely that
she would have to win the, so
she's got now.
Better to go now then be taken
out by voters.
>> Go out on a high.
The last two months have been
bruising for ardern and her
government.
--
tweeted this, the prime
minister ardern resigned today.
I'm not surprised or blame her.
Her treatment over the last
month has been disgraceful and
embarrassing.
All the bullies and misogynists,
the aggrieved, she deserves so
much better, a great leader.
Would you say the political
fighting as been especially
physicians in most recent
months but --
or was it normal
rough-and-tumble, or the last
straw?
>> Things have become more
polarized.
It's a lot like America at the
moment, things have gotten very
divided, and that's an all come
of covid and the fact that,
there's been a big increase in
mood, quality, lots of social
division, and people blame the
prime minister for this, but I
don't know, there has not been
anything major.
We have had parliamentary
protests earlier last year,
where there were a noose rope
some people wanting to put the
prime minister on trial, all
sorts of things like that, but
that has dissipated in recent
months.
Nonetheless, there's opinion
polls are pretty hard for any
prime minister to deal with.
>> Few New Zealand prime
ministers have dealt with the
challenges that ardern as
faced.
In particular, 2019 mass
shootings at two mosque.
I remember she was quick to
treat this.
What happened at christchurch's
and unprecedented action of
violence.
New Zealand is their home, they
are us.
Her words were in such stark
contrast to what we are hearing
in the U.S. At the time and
other countries, and she had
this very common touch to the
pandemic crisis, lifetime
chance on Facebook from her
bedroom.
This is a leadership style, can
it be replicated, is this what
New Zealand expects, or is this
a one-off unique thing from a
unique prime minister?
>> Yeah, you have to remember
that ardern came to power in
2017, just really a few months
after Donald Trump came to
power, and so, around the world,
I think there was a huge
interest in the anti-Trump or
antidote to trump, and her
communication style has been
very down to Earth, I think it
has worked.
Of course she did a degree in
communications, so that is her
expertise.
She certainly has raised the
bar very high for politicians
needing to amount and show
their emotions and being able
to connect with people.
I don't think there is anyone
in the current government that