Modern politics have created a polarizing and selfish environment that elevates power-hungry leaders: a senator paid by Big Pharma, a president who refuses to concede and a House Representative who has fabricated his life to get elected. Meanwhile, Jacinda Ardern, the beloved and prominent progressive leader of New Zealand, recently announced she would step down from her role as Prime Minister. In the immediate waves of shock and speculation, many wondered the cause of such an announcement, a question Ardern answered in her address: “I am human. Politicians… give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.” By stepping down for her own happiness, and to give New Zealanders a more capable leader, Ardern demonstrated her rare kind of intuition and selflessness in an otherwise treacherous political landscape.
As Reshma Saujani, founder of the organizations Moms First and Girls Who Code pointed out, politicians often “cling to power much longer than they deserve.” This comes at the expense of the constituents they represent. Ardern, citing burnout, said she simply did not “have enough left in the tank,” to “do [the job] justice.” Recognizing that she believed her party could win the upcoming elections, Ardern stated that to do so, they needed a “fresh set of shoulders.” So often, politicians are allowed to remain in positions for overdue lengths of time to maintain power or win elections for their party. Ardern recognized that she could no longer serve New Zealanders to the best of her abilities. In conceding this, she set a new precedent in which politicians step down for the good of their constituents, rather than remain for personal gain.
This selflessness is even more remarkable when you consider that Ardern is a relatively young woman in politics. Women are often told to choose a path—that one cannot “have it all” in regard to both motherhood and a successful career. Indeed this refrain grew in the wake of Ardern’s announcement, though it was met with much backlash.
Though she cited burnout, Ardern, who in 2018 became only the second world leader to give birth while in office, did not step down because she couldn’t have it all; rather, she no longer wanted to. Ardern discussed looking forward to spending time with family in her speech, but suggested not that it was a motivating factor in stepping down—rather, it is a bright side to resigning. Burnout plagues people in all careers, undoubtedly politicians as well. But by deciding to resign for her own fulfillment and self-preservation, Ardern rebuked the notion that women must strain themselves in order to have everything.
As Saujani remarked, Ardern’s resignation only further cemented her as a great leader. She is long renowned by progressives for dealing with tough situations using empathy and compassion. Shutting down the country almost entirely at the start of the pandemic, she did all that she could to ensure New Zealanders remained safe; after an Islamophobic shooting, she took swift action on gun safety and made statements vehemently against bigotry. Throughout the five and a half years she has served, Ardern has demonstrated a signature type of compassionate and courageous leadership.
She now demonstrates the autonomy of stepping down on her own time and terms. Describing her hopes for how New Zealanders remember her, she listed being “kind, but strong; empathetic, but decisive; optimistic, but focused.” Ardern led with all of those values, and, as she listed last, she knew “when it [was] time to go.”
Written by Avni Koenig of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Graphic courtesy of The MoCo Student