Cuddling with your constituents, having your picture taken and shaking hands: it’s all possible in New Zealand. Corona is hardly there anymore. Ardern’s party is now being rewarded for this: the Social Democrats have 64 of the 120 seats in the preliminary results. Result: Ardern can continue to govern on her own, without a coalition partner. This has never happened since the introduction of the current electoral system in 1996.
Jacinda Ardern (40) owes the absolute majority mainly to her corona policy, but also to herself. She grew into a kind of pop star.
Corona reports
To start with, Ardern’s corona policy. That was strict. Already on March 20, when there were only about 100 infections, the borders were closed and New Zealand went into lockdown. ‘Go hard and go early’, was Ardern’s motto.
During that lockdown, a major testing policy was set up. Among other things, this ensured that New Zealand was virus-free after just a few months. The measures were relaxed and New Zealanders could once again enjoy more freedoms.
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That period lasted 102 days, until August 11. Then suddenly four more infections were diagnosed in New Zealand’s largest city Auckland. The source of this is still unknown. Enough reason for Adern to put Auckland back into lockdown immediately.
It worked, because the country is virus-free again. The only cases of corona so far are of returning travelers, who are in quarantine. The corona measures have been withdrawn.
‘Travel bubble’
As an isolated island, New Zealand does have an advantage in fighting the virus. The borders are still closed for foreigners.
However, a so-called ‘travel bubble’ has now been set up with large neighbor Australia. New Zealanders have recently been able to travel to two Australian provinces without being quarantined. The travel bubble is one-sided: New Zealand does not yet accept travelers from Australia, unless it concerns New Zealanders who return.
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Political rock star
Before corona, it looked like Ardern was going to have a hard time. Her government had failed to build the promised 100,000 starter homes. And despite Ardern’s promises, the poverty problem among children has still not been solved. But in corona times, Ardern grew into something of a political rock star for many people.
Ardern chose to just show her emotions. For example, when, after the first wave, she announced that there were zero corona cases. When she heard that news, she did “a little dance” for joy.
Another famous moment came during an interview, when an earthquake suddenly started. Ardern was quite relaxed.
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Before the corona era, Ardern had already become known in 2018 for giving birth to a child as prime minister-in-office. That was only the second time in the world that a woman had done that.
Attack on mosque
Before New Zealand went into lockdown, major events were already canceled. So did the commemoration of the attack on a mosque in Christchurch: it was exactly one year ago on March 14 that a white racist shot 51 Muslims dead. It was the other big crisis for Ardern.
In the days after the attack, Ardern tried to show empathy for the victims by, among other things, visiting the mosque wearing a headscarf. She did that again in election time.
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After the attack, Ardern was also decisive. She refused to speak the name of the perpetrator and introduced stricter gun laws to prevent further shootings.
Economic problems
How long Ardern’s popularity boost will last is still the question. The closed borders ensure that tourism is virtually flat. Ardern promised in the campaign a better climate policy, more money for problem schools and higher taxes for the rich. Whether her new policy will be a success, just like her corona approach, is the question, but thanks to the absolute majority Ardern now has her hands free.
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