Just over five years in office and curtain. Jacinda Ardern caught short five million New Zealanders by announcing his resignation on Thursday. At the head of the country since 2017, the Prime Minister leaves her post, exhausted. “I know what this job demands, and I know I don’t have enough energy left to do it justice. It’s as simple as that, ”said the 42-year-old leader in a frank speech.
The scope of Jacinda Ardern’s stage appearance, like her political action and her personality, goes well beyond New Zealand’s borders. Can the decision of the leader of the Labor Party, who announced that she will remain a member of parliament until April, inspire other personalities to say stop? To not cling to power?
“This resignation must create a precedent. We have to succeed in disconnecting careerism and politics. We have an ingrained perception that the exercise of power is a profession. In reality, if we want it to respond to a promise of democracy, we should not be able to pursue a career in politics, ”analyzes Lea Chambonceljournalist, author of book More women in politics!
“Dramatic to lose such talents because of sexist attacks”
The wear and tear of power can be read behind this surprise departure. And, above all, the difficulty of being a woman in politics. “On this scale, it’s a first. But, as a woman politician, I am surrounded by women who often ask themselves this question, note Alice CoffinCouncilor of Paris (12th), author of the book The lesbian genius and present in New Zealand during the Christchurch attacks in 2019. You have to see the attacks she suffered. His whole speech resonated with my own political experience. I received the news in two ways: it is a rare step, to be welcomed, but also a sign of the absolute toxicity of the attacks against women in politics. It is tragic to lose such talents because of sexist attacks”.
Barely a few hours after the announcement of Jacinda Ardern, the BBC has also been pinned for a sexist article title against him.
Elected at the head of her country, at 37, the youngest Prime Minister of New Zealand since 1856, Jacinda Ardern marked her passage to the top of the state. Hailed for her management of the Covid-19 epidemic, she distinguished herself, in addition to her political management, by several symbolic gestures. As when she had put on a veil in support of Muslim families bereaved by the Christchurch bombingor when she landed at the UN in 2018 accompanied by her three-month-old daughter.
“Withdrawing, a very humble decision”
“I think leading a country is the most privileged position one can have, but also one of the most difficult. You can’t and shouldn’t do this if you don’t have a full energy tank, plus a little reserve for unexpected challenges […], Slipped the future ex-Prime Minister, daughter of a police officer from the hinterland of the North Island. But I’m not leaving because it was difficult. If that had been the case, I would probably have left two months after the start of the position! I’m leaving because such a privileged role comes with responsibilities – the responsibility of knowing when you’re the right person to lead, and also, when you’re not. »
Leaving the most prestigious position in his country, admitting his fatigue, stepping back to favor the general interest… So many rare acts in politics, like a kind of guide to good practice left to his successors. “Standing down is a very humble decision, which is what many politicians miss. She showed us that it was possible to get out of the verticality of the exercise of power, admitting that we could make mistakes, analyzes Léa Chamboncel. We associate domination with power. Until we break that, political leaders will always have the same characteristics. »
The shock wave absorbed, the lessons to be drawn from this resignation do not seem (yet?) learned by the political leaders. “The emblematic example is Sandrine Rousseau, but there are others locally. Politicians are not lucid, they continue to attack. I see a lot of reactions that show that it is not moving, ”laments Alice Coffin.
“I hope that in return, I will leave behind the belief that you can be kind, but strong. Empathetic, but decisive. Optimistic, but focused. That you can be your own leader – one who knows when it’s time to go,” Jacinda Ardern concluded in her speech. In 2017, when she took office, she said, not without a touch of humor that characterizes her. “Everyone knows that I have just accepted without notice the worst political post. “Premonitory.