Can you be 'kind' in politics? Jacinda Ardern resigns and says what her legacy ought to be

Jacinda Ardern, who was congratulated on her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by global experts, said she 'no longer had enough in the tank' to do the job as New Zealand's PM. "It’s time," she added.

Ms Ardern choked up as she detailed how six 'challenging' years in the job had taken a toll. Labour MPs will vote to find her replacement on Sunday, January 22.

Jacinda Ardern, 42, said she had taken time to consider her future over the summer break, hoping to find the heart and energy to go on in the role.

"But unfortunately I haven't, and I would be doing a disservice to New Zealand to continue," she told reporters on Thursday.

Jacinda has achieved a great deal in her six years of power, including praise for her handling of the Christchurch mosque shootings. Her lockdown of New Zealand during the pandemic was lauded for being one of the best health measures in the world and made her style of governing look strong on a global stage.

Yet, at home, things were getting tougher for her. The latest opinion polls put her personal popularity at its lowest since she was elected, and approval of her party's performance similarly low.

In 2022, Ms Ardern told the BBC her declining popularity was the price her government had paid for keeping people safe from Covid-19.

She has also been confronted with a cost-of-living crisis, national fears about crime, and a backlog of election promises put off during the pandemic.

Asked how she would like New Zealanders to remember her leadership, Ardern said "as someone who always tried to be kind".

"I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go," Ardern said.

Women in politics are often unable to have it all. The balance between being seen as too soft or too severe is a fine line and female leaders are often criticised more harshly for appearing to be either.

Merkel faced a political blowback over her stance on refugees fleeing the war in Syria in 2016, a position praised by Obama as a matter of moral strength.

"She’s on the right side of history on this," Obama said alongside his German counterpart in 2016, praising Merkel for confronting some ‘very tough politics’ in opening her country’s borders to nearly a million migrants in 2015.

"She is giving voice, I think, to the kinds of principles that bring people together rather than divide them, and I’m very proud of her for that, and I’m proud of the German people for that," Obama said.

Casual sexism is an ever-present factor for female leaders.

When Jacinda Ardern and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin met in 2022 they hit back after a male reporter suggested they were meeting only because they were a similar age - a question that quickly drew accusations of 'casual sexism' in the media against younger, female world leaders.

The two women held a news conference in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2022, after their first face-to-face meeting - which Ardern described as a 'historic occasion' marking the country’s first visit from a Finnish prime minister.

A reporter zoomed in on what he seemed to think was the most important thing Ardern, 42, and Marin, 37, have in common. "A lot of people will be wondering: ‘Are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and have got a lot of common stuff there - when you got into politics and stuff - or can Kiwis actually expect to see more deals between our two countries down the line?" the reporter from New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB asked.

Ardern replied: "I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age," referring to New Zealand’s former prime minister who was born five days after the former U.S. president.

"We of course have a higher proportion of men in politics, it’s reality. Because two women meet, it’s not simply because of their gender," Ardern said. Shen then described the trade relations and economic opportunities between the two countries, adding: "It’s our job to further it, regardless of our gender."

Meanwhile, Marin said with a laugh: "We are meeting because we are prime ministers, of course… we have a lot of things in common, but also a lot of things where we can do much more together."

Sanna Marin has faced an official inquiry into her conduct as she was seen dancing and drinking alcohol in leaked videos. She was forced to take a drug test last year to clear up any suspicion, after comments heard on the video referring to narcotics. The test came back negative in August 2022.

The official inquiry found that Marin had not neglected her duties as Finland's PM.

Finland’s chancellor of justice, Tuomas Pöysti, responsible for lawsuits against the government, said in November that there is "no reason to suspect PM of unlawful conduct or of neglect of her official duties."

Others saw the dancing footage as a popularity boost for the the 36-year-old prime minister with women around the world posting dancing videos tagging themselves with a #SolidaritywithSanna hashtag.

Being a woman in a world leadership position makes you a target for scrutiny, far beyond what men may encounter.

The former UK PM, Boris Johnson, got away with a great deal of questionable behaviour, as did Donald Trump, the former US president. Partygate and the eventual fines by police failed to signal the end of Boris, it took a few more scandals to secure his demise. Donald Trump has an ongoing Capitol riots investigation hanging over his head, and despite this has the nerve to run for the presidential race in 2024 . Trump did not accept the result of the US elections in 2020/early 2021 which saw newly-elected Joe Biden take power.

Jacinda can be sure that her legacy will be very different from the above-mentioned men. Her kindness and sense of equality will be remembered.