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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a global figure in progressive politics, shocked the country on Thursday (January 19) by announcing that she would step down in a matter of weeks.
The 42-year-old, who has guided the country through natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst terror attack in her history, said she no longer had "enough in the tank."
Ardern gained international recognition for his empathetic handling of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre, which killed 51 Muslim worshipers and injured 40 others.
Later that year, she was commended for her decisive leadership during the fatal eruption of the White Island volcano.
On Thursday, she cited her government's actions on housing affordability, climate change and child poverty as other sources of pride.
“And we've done it while responding to some of the greatest threats to our nation's health and economic well-being, possibly since World War II,” Ardern said.
In her heyday, she was a national force, but her government has been falling steadily in the polls over the past year.
"About time. It has ruined the economy and food prices have skyrocketed," said Esther Hedges of Cambridge on New Zealand's north island.
"I know there will be a lot of discussion after this decision about what is the so-called real reason behind it. The only interesting angle you will find is that after six years of great challenges, I am human," she said. continued. "Politicians are human. We give everything we can, for as long as we can, and then it's time. And for me, it's time."
