Jacinda Ardern appoints a government marked by diversity in New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern during the press conference to announce her Government this Tuesday.BEN MCKAY / EFE

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has chosen her new Government with one priority in mind: the fight against the covid and the recovery of the economy damaged by the pandemic.

To demonstrate this, he has promoted Grant Robertson, the Minister of Economy, as second in command, who in addition to holding this position becomes deputy prime minister.

It has also strengthened the Ministry of Health with the creation of a new portfolio, the Ministry for the Response to covid-19, which takes on the challenge of keeping the virus under control in a country that has so far only registered a total of 1,607 cases and 25 deaths.

The Labor leader has an absolute majority in Parliament after winning 49% of the vote in the October 17 elections.

Unlike the previous term when he governed with two more parties, this time Ardern has been able to design his team with complete freedom and has created the most diverse Parliament in New Zealand history: eight of the 20 ministers are women (40%), among which the election of the Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs stands out: Nanaia Mahuta has been a deputy since 1996 and held two ministries in the previous government.

But also in New Zealand she is known for being the first woman to wear a

the traditional tattoo that Maori wear on their faces,

in Parliament

.

With his new role as representative on the international scene, Mahuta will also spread this symbol of high honor in the country's indigenous culture outside the country.

Nanaia Mahuta is one of the five Maori ministers of the new New Zealand Executive.

According to the Labor Party, it represents the highest percentage of the indigenous population in a government in the country.

The choice of ministries has not been arbitrary, Ardern has chosen the most important portfolios for this sector and where traditionally there are more accusations of discrimination against the Maori population, such as Children, Prisons, Maori Health and Conservation.

In addition to the historical percentage of women and Maori, the New Zealand government includes three ministers from the Pacific Islands and three members of the LGTBI community, including Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.

The Prime Minister has celebrated the diversity of her Executive:

This is a Cabinet that is based on merit, but that is also incredibly diverse and of that I am very proud.

I think this is an important aspect: they are people who have been promoted for what they offer to the Executive, but they are also a reflection of the New Zealand that has chosen them ”, Ardern declared at the press conference to announce the composition of his Government.

With the victory in the elections on October 17, the Labor Party won 64 of the 120 deputies in the New Zealand Parliament and could therefore govern alone.

But Jacinda Ardern has wanted to maintain her reputation as a conciliatory figure and has signed a cooperation agreement with the Greens, who increased their percentage of votes in the elections to 10 deputies.

Ardern has granted the co-leaders of the environmental party two portfolios outside the Cabinet, Climate Change and Domestic Violence.

With this agreement with the Greens, Jacinda Ardern has 13 more deputies than she needs to govern and reinforces her absolute power for the next three years.

New Zealanders not only hope that their government will continue to defend the country from the threat of covid.

They also count on Ardern to seize the absolute majority to carry out all the promises of progressive reform that he could not fulfill in the previous term because he governed in a difficult three-party coalition.