Jacinda-Mania Isn’t Enough for New Zealand’s Workers, Māori, or the Environment
The landslide reelection of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government is a welcome opportunity for New Zealand’s left. Yet Ardern’s record in office shows that we can’t rely on Labour to bring about progressive changes without pressure from social movements and the Left.
The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. (NATO / Flickr)
Jacinda Ardern first came to power as the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party in September 2017. Her initial breakthrough came as a shock. The National Party, New Zealand / Aotearoa’s main center-right force, had been in government for nine years. Just a few weeks before the election, they had seemed unassailable.
With only six weeks to go, the Labour leader, former union official Andrew Little, resigned. His party chose Jacinda Ardern, a younger, more media-savvy career politician to replace him.
“Jacinda-mania” swept the country, contributing to an amazing surge in support for Labour. Ardern’s charisma produced a Lazarus-like return from almost certain electoral death for New Zealand’s oldest political party.
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