New Zealand PM stepping down after becoming global symbol of female leadership

Amna Nawaz:

Lawmakers in New Zealand today are negotiating over the country's next prime minister after Jacinda Ardern made a surprise announcement she would step down before the end of her second term.

She has been New Zealand's youngest prime minister in 150 years.

Nick Schifrin looks at why she's leaving and her legacy.

Nick Schifrin:

She was the world's youngest female head of government.

Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand: Yes, I can do the job and be a mother.

Nick Schifrin:

Well-known for empathy.

Jacinda Ardern:

Jump online quickly and just check in with everyone, really.

Our gun laws will change.

Nick Schifrin:

Who became a global liberal icon as a self-proclaimed feminist.

Jacinda Ardern:

MeToo must become we too.

Nick Schifrin:

And yet, at just 43 years old, five years into the job, Jacinda Ardern says she's had enough.

Jacinda Ardern:

I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It's that simple. And so, today, I'm announcing that I will not be seeking reelection.

Nick Schifrin:

Ardern is well-known for that emotion and openness, especially in 2019, after an Australian gunman killed 51 Muslim worshipers in two mosques. She stood with the Muslim community and against the shooter's white supremacy.

Jacinda Ardern:

They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not.

Nick Schifrin:

In less than four weeks, Parliament passed a bill banning most semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.

Jacinda Ardern:

Every semiautomatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country.

Nick Schifrin:

Her tenure was marked by crises, none larger than COVID.

Jacinda Ardern:

These decisions will place the most significant restrictions on New Zealanders' movements in modern history.

Nick Schifrin:

Her government shut the borders and imposed one of the world's strictest lockdowns, despite the country's reliance on tourism. It saved lives and allowed Kiwis to resume normal life earlier than most countries.

Throughout, she spoke to the country via Facebook Live.

Jacinda Ardern:

As we all join together in the fight against COVID-19.

Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand: Without question, we had one of the most effective responses to the pandemic in the world, and many people owe their lives to let.

Nick Schifrin:

Helen Clark was New Zealand's prime minister from 1999 to 2008 from our Ardern's same party. She also co-led an independent review of COVID's origins and countries' responses.

We spoke to her from a train outside Davos.

Helen Clark:

I think that Jacinda's government distinguished itself by taking the science seriously. A lot of other women leaders around the world took a similar approach, listen to the experts, make sound decisions, communicate clearly to the public about what you know and what you don't know.

Nick Schifrin:

But, two years later, demonstrators protested outside Parliament. A slow vaccine rollout, government mandates and inflation sparked opposition among conservatives and led to Ardern's party slipping in the polls.

Dr. Suze Wilson is a senior lecturer at New Zealand's Massey University.

Dr. Suze Wilson, Massey University:

The cost of living pressures are very real for people. And they're looking for someone to blame. And, of course, they're going to blame the government.

Nick Schifrin:

But Ardern also faced criticism that could be sexist and ageist.

Question:

I have met a lot of prime ministers in my time, but none so young, not too many so smart, and never one so attractive.

Nick Schifrin:

In 2018, she became only the second world leader to give birth in office. She never hid her motherhood.

Jacinda Ardern:

It's bedtime, darling. Pop back to bed. I will come and see you in a second.

Nick Schifrin:

Or her feminism, standing next to 37-year-old Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Question:

A lot of people will be wondering, are you two meeting just because you're similar in age and got a lot of common stuff?

Jacinda Ardern:

My first question is, I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age.

Dr. Suze Wilson:

If you're being subjected to threats of violence at unprecedented levels, all of that makes your workplace environment far more hostile. While she's the number one target, this behavior has a chilling effect for all women.

We look at — we look at how she is being treated and we go, so that's what happens if you have a public profile.

Nick Schifrin:

Ardern never shied away from that public profile, until today. After leading the country through countless crises, she says she and her fiance will finally have time to get married.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.