Future New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was confirmed as head of the ruling Labor Party on Sunday, ahead of his inauguration on Wednesday by the country's Governor General, which will officially make him head of government.
It is also a question of waiting for the withdrawal of Jacinda Ardern to be formally recorded.
Following a vote by members of his party in Parliament, unanimously designating him leader of the ruling party and therefore next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins explained that he would be officially enthroned on Wednesday by the Governor General, representative in New Zealand of King Charles III.
Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation on Thursday, explaining that she had "simply no energy left for four more years", after having experienced the Covid pandemic, a volcanic eruption and the worst terrorist attack ever experienced by New York. -Zeeland.
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Many politicians, including Chris Hipkins, have blasted the “vitriol campaign” Jacinda Ardern suffered during her tenure, especially on social media.
"The way Jacinda has been treated, especially by certain segments of society - and they are a small minority - has been absolutely despicable," the country's future 41st prime minister once again criticized on Sunday.
Stay “away from the spotlight”
Responsible for the fight against the Covid pandemic for two years, Chris Hipkins said he understood that his new position would expose him more.
But his family is not “public property,” he insisted to reporters.
In view of the "enormous pressure" put on Jacinda Ardern and her family, her 44-year-old successor said he wanted to keep his loved ones "out of the spotlight".
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He also said his main concern would be to revive the economy.
Inflation and staff shortages have largely dented the popularity of the ruling party since 2020, now behind the centre-right opposition, the National Party, in the polls.
An indigenous Deputy Prime Minister
Chris Hipkins also announced that the country would have its first Deputy Prime Minister of Pasifika origin, an indigenous people of the Pacific Islands, in the person of Carmel Sepuloni.
The latter has been a Member of Parliament since 2008 and Minister for Social Development since 2017. About 8% of New Zealand's 5.1 million people identify as Pasikifa.
Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern's deputy prime minister, is expected to remain in government as finance minister.