Jacinda Ardern Success: Health Before Economics

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, during an act of the Labor Party, on October 3 in Auckland.DAVID ROWLAND / EFE

Some 80 volunteers from the Labor Party were gathered in an Auckland school auditorium to call for a vote.

When their leader Jacinda Ardern burst into the room they gasped for a second before breaking into cheers and applause.

She thanked them and also picked up a phone: "My calls are always longer than the others," she jokes to the journalists who follow the event, and explains how she entertains herself talking to voters about the issues that concern them.

Ardern knows that the accessible and empathetic image he projects is his best weapon to win the elections on the 17th next. His Government has prioritized the health of citizens over the economy in the fight against covid-19: when the virus re-entered New Zealand in mid-August (after more than three months without any cases in the community), the prime minister immediately confined to the Auckland region to stop the chain of transmission.

Thanks to this controversial decision, the second wave of covid has caused a total of 179 cases, and no new cases have been detected among the population since September 26.

Labor MP Anahila Kanongataá-Suisuiki explained to EL PAÍS why the Government maintains its strategy to fight the pandemic despite the fact that this has led to New Zealand entering a recession.

"It's always about lives. The population I compare New Zealand to is Ireland. There, sadly, they have lost more than a thousand lives. Meanwhile here in New Zealand there have been 25 deaths. That's why we put the citizens first, because the economy is the people and if there are no people to work for, there is no economy ”.

Kanongataá-Suisuiki accompanied Jacinda Ardern during her visit to Labor volunteers on October 3.

In this way, the prime minister publicly clothed the candidate who is running on the same electoral seat as the leader of the opposition, Judith Collins.

The center-right National Party has changed leaders three times since May, but Collins has managed to overcome extremely poor results in polls.

Her style is much more aggressive than Jacinda Ardern's: she held various ministries during the previous National Party government and for her work as a Police Minister she earned the nickname of

(the one who crushes).

In an interview with EL PAÍS, National Party deputy Simon O'Connor acknowledges that Ardern has handled well the three major crises of his mandate: the terrorist attack against two mosques in Christchurch, the eruption of the Whakaari volcano (which caused 21 deaths) and the Covid.

But there are also criticisms: “For me it is not a question of whether you belong to the Labor Party or the National, because normally when you occupy the highest position, you are expected to know how to deal with crises.

But he hasn't taken care of day-to-day affairs well, "O'Connor points out." Child poverty is still a big problem. When I was part of the government there were 5,000 homeless people, now there are 18,000 families waiting for a home in the State. Most of the promises he made, such as building 10,000 houses every year, have not been kept. "

The two majority parties have focused their campaign on the measures they will adopt to refloat the economy affected by the covid, with job creation as a priority (the unemployment rate is around 4%).

It will be a difficult challenge to achieve, since the borders have been closed since March and both formations have promised to reinforce the mandatory quarantine system that allows the return only of New Zealand residents and citizens.

At the moment, they are only considering opening the borders to countries or regions free of COVID, such as some of the neighboring Pacific islands.

GDP contracted a historic 12.2% between April and June, but the Labor government is confident that the trend will reverse with the data for the next quarter.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defends that the covid elimination strategy is the one that allows a faster economic recovery.

The latest polls indicate that New Zealanders trust his management: the Labor Party remains strong with almost 50% support while the National Party gets around 30%.

If these forecasts are met, Labor would only need the support of its traditional partner, the Greens, to form a government.

With such favorable polls, the Auckland auditorium where Labor volunteers were gathered is experiencing a party atmosphere.

When her press conference ended, Ardern picked up her mobile and made a video of herself that she posted on social media shortly after, inviting her followers to join the cause: “It's so much fun!

I have been doing it since I was 17 years old and I have met some of my best friends as a volunteer ”.

In addition to general elections, two referendums are held on Saturday 17: one to legalize euthanasia, the other to allow the recreational use of cannabis.

Ardern has voted yes on euthanasia, but refuses to make his vote public at the cannabis consultation.

In one of the electoral debates, he admitted that he had tried marijuana before

"a long time", a confession that reinforced her image as an honest leader and ordinary citizen: according to studies by the NZ Drug Foundation, around 80% of New Zealanders have also tried this drug.