The biggest news story around the Finnish PM’s visit to New Zealand is the now-viral exchange between a member of the press and the two Prime Ministers regarding the reason for their meeting. The question “did you meet just because you are of similar age?” seemed to trivialise the meeting between two female Prime Ministers. …
New Zealand media have recently discussed two major representational milestones in politics. Firstly, New Zealand Parliament achieving 50% women’s representation with the induction of Labour list MP Soraya Peke-Mason. Secondly, Rishi Sunak becoming the UK’s first non-White Prime Minister. Major media outlets have been celebrating these events as watershed moments in history. Indeed, these are …
International analyst Geoffrey Miller reads between the lines of Jacinda Ardern’s speech to this week’s US business summit in Auckland Jacinda Ardern is slowly but surely shifting New Zealand’s foreign policy towards the West. That was the underlying theme of a keynote address by New Zealand’s Prime Minister this week. Ardern mentioned China only once …
International analyst Geoffrey Miller examines the motivations behind Jacinda Ardern’s first foreign trip since February 2020 – and says her tour of Japan and Singapore is about much more than trade This is far from Jacinda Ardern’s first foreign trip – but it almost feels like one. Ardern’s tour of Japan and Singapore this week …
John AZ Moore joins the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller to discuss two recent post-election critiques of Jacinda Ardern and Labour
John AZ Moore joins Geoffrey Miller to discuss the PM’s new ministerial lineup
News is not in short supply in the Middle East, and at the weekend, Arabic-language media remained firmly focused on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and above all Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – still received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news channels, newspapers and particularly on …
Critiquing Jacinda Ardern and Labour: John A.Z. Moore joins the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller for an in-depth discussion of three articles by Cat MacLennan, Bryce Edwards and Graham Adams.
At a time when a wave of iconoclasm has meant no statue or monument appears safe from destruction — whether it is Gandhi, Churchill or Captain Cook — Judith Collins has taken the opportunity to attack a living icon who has been feted in some quarters, both here and abroad, as the world’s greatest leader: …
During the State Opening of Parliament after the 2017 election, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged that her administration would be a government of transformation. 31 months later, it is clear that Labour in 2020 will never be transformational. Here are ten dead giveaways that explain why. 1. When the Budget was delivered in May, Finance …
It is rare for a first-term New Zealand prime minister to be the subject of a biography. Let alone two. But then Jacinda Ardern is no ordinary prime minister. At least, that is what two recent books claim. Michelle Duff’s Jacinda Ardern: The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader (2019) is the first attempt at a …
New Zealand’s history as a sheep-farming nation means the command “Get in behind!” has long had a particular resonance — but not usually for journalists. However, in late March, as panic over the coronavirus pandemic surged around the world, Dr Gavin Ellis — former editor-in-chief of the NZ Herald — recommended that the media should …
In ancient Rome, a victorious general would parade through the city to the temple of Jupiter in a gilded chariot amidst a frenzy of adoration. But to keep the triumphant commander tethered to reality, the trusted slave holding a laurel wreath above his head would whisper repeatedly in his ear: “Memento mori” — “Remember you are …
As is often the case with crises, the coronavirus pandemic has been a boon for New Zealand’s political leadership. Jacinda Ardern’s decisive and effective health response to the virus has garnered both New Zealand and herself adoring headlines around the world, particularly in countries starving for basic governmental competence. New Zealand’s exceptional handling of the …
Jacinda Ardern’s prime ministership is a tale of two leaders. In times of crisis, Courageous Jacinda takes centre stage, acting boldly and drawing both domestic and international acclaim. But, in normal times, it is Cautious Jacinda who is to the fore, stepping warily and advancing slowly. The problem with this is that, often, the progress …
Jacinda Ardern had two Easter messages last week. One was that the Easter bunny was an essential service, which got star billing in the Washington Post and elsewhere across the world. The other was a democracy lesson. In her briefing the Thursday before Easter, Ardern talked at length of how “you” were doing well, observing …
In her short tenure as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern has shown herself to be extremely good in a crisis. After taking on the leadership of the Labour party just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, Ardern has put together a disparate coalition government, had a baby while in office, dealt with the Christchurch terrorist attacks, guided …
If there were any doubts about Jacinda Ardern’s ability to deliver the goods as a campaigner, then they were quashed by her masterful performance against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday. Ardern made what is being reported as a “stunning attack” on the Australian Government, while standing alongside the Australian PM in a highly-orchestrated …
New Zealand politics has been relatively stable for the last nine years. Public opinion hasn’t moved around much at all, even in the face of all sorts of scandal and chaos amongst the politicians. And when volatility hit other countries, New Zealand appeared to be comfortably unmoved. Everything has now changed. The public is suddenly …
