How COVID’s bitter divisions tarnished NZ’s liberal icon
Jacinda Ardern was praised for her COVID-19 response until extended lockdowns and vaccine mandates hurt the economy, fuelled conspiracy theories and spurred a backlash.
Jacinda Ardern explained her decision to step down as New Zealand’s prime minister with a plea for understanding and rare political directness – the same attributes that helped make her a global emblem of anti-Trump liberalism, then a target of the toxic divisions amplified by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ardern, 42, fought back tears as she told reporters that she would resign in early February before New Zealand’s election in October.
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