Jacinda Ardern to step down as New Zealand Prime Minister

PTI, Jan 19, 2023, 8:38 AM IST

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that she will not contest this year’s general elections.

Fighting back tears, Ardern told reporters in Napier that February 7 will be her last day as the country’s leader.

”I am not leaving because it was hard. Had that been the case I probably would have departed two months into the job. I am leaving because with such a privileged role, comes responsibility, the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead, and also, when you are not. I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple,” she said.

Ardern faced a tough election campaign this year. Her liberal Labour Party won re-election two years ago in a landslide of historic proportions, but recent polls have put her party behind its conservative rivals.