"Go when people ask why you're going, not when they wonder why you're not going. Jacinda Ardern followed this rule, and we need more people like her" - this is how one of the senior Indian legislators responded yesterday to the New Zealand Prime Minister's retirement announcement, and it seems that his statement reflected the The surprise of her decision and her position as a leader of a new type, in Israel and in the whole world.
Ardern (42) announced her retirement when she was at the peak of her political career.
"Leading a country is the most uplifting job you can ask for, but also the most challenging," explained Ardern, who will retire on February 7.
"You can't and you shouldn't do it if you don't have a full tank of fuel, and a little more in reserve for the unexpected challenges. I don't have any more fuel in the tank. If I continue in the job, I will be doing a disservice to New Zealand."
And perhaps in an attempt to anticipate a cure for the search for skeletons in the coffin, she added: "The only interesting thing you will find is that after six years of serious challenges, I am human."
"I'm human"
The skeptics will say, and quite rightly, that there is also a political calculation behind the retirement.
Growth is very low, inflation has reached a 32-year high, and her government is sinking in the polls also due to the failed treatment of crime.
It is possible that by retiring now, Ardern is saving herself the discrimination in the elections planned for October.
Commentators in New Zealand criticized both the suddenness of the announcement and the fact that it leaves a party without a clear successor.
But whatever the difficulties and criticisms may be, it is likely that in the long run they will dwarf Ardern's achievements and the symbolic events that accompanied her tenure.
Ardern, who came from a Mormon home and before her career in politics was, among other things, a DJ, became the youngest prime minister in the world at the age of 37 and the second prime minister to give birth during her term, and will even be remembered as the leader who brought her baby daughter to the United Nations.
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, photo: AP
Among its achievements is the management of the Corona crisis.
In the first phase of the epidemic, Ardern actually managed to prevent the virus from entering the island nation for a year and a half.
She pledged that New Zealand would reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and waged a fight against child poverty.
Ardern also supported the promotion of the Maori language - native to New Zealand, and promised that by 2025 it would be available in all schools in the country.
Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford gave their daughter, Niv, a Maori middle name - Te Aroha (pronounced Tiaroha).
In the messages published yesterday by leaders on the occasion of her retirement, the word "empathy" stood out.
Her biography, which was published two years ago, is also called "Leading with Empathy", and it seems that this is the trait that stood out the most during her tenure.
Her response to the attack in Christchurch, in March 2019, when a supporter of white supremacy murdered 51 Muslim worshipers, was extremely symbolic in this regard.
Ardern's response to the massacre, the attitude she showed towards the victims and even the hijab she wore while visiting the affected community were praised around the world.
Yesterday, one of the survivors of the massacre, Farid Ahmed, said: "Her call for human compassion made me cry then, just as it makes me cry today."
She herself previously said in an interview with the "Guardian" that kindness and empathy led her to the top: "You can be both strong and empathetic."
RM? Not at all costs
Ardern is not the first leader to retire: history, even the recent one, has known leaders who got tired.
It is enough if we even recall Menachem Begin's "I can't anymore" in August 1983. But she does so at a very young age, and unlike most of her predecessors - retires when she could do so, and not when she could only retire.
Whatever the situation in the polls, it seems that considerable courage and honesty are required to admit that you can no longer fulfill the role as required, and not to hold on to a high position at all costs.
Perhaps it was empathy and kindness that came to her aid: this time she directed them towards herself.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us