WHEN Jacinda Ardern was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in March, she was unknown to most New Zealanders. The soft-left party was favoured by less than a quarter of voters when her uninspiring boss, Andrew Little, resigned last month, thrusting her into what she described as “the worst job in politics”. The change was akin to “anointing a prophet”, notes Raymond Miller, a professor at the University of Auckland. Labour has staged an unprecedented resurgence, climbing by as much as 20 points in some polls. That has cast doubt on the outcome of an election on September 23rd which had previously seemed certain to provide the right-of-centre National Party with another term in government.
The local press calls it “Jacindamania”. At the tender age of 37, Ms Ardern has harnessed what she calls a “mood for change”. Not all locals have benefited from the strength of New Zealand’s economy. Wages are stagnant and the price of housing has soared, feeding a debate about New...Continue reading
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