Jacinda

She gave it her all.

No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers.

No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from the mosque killings to the Whakaari eruption, from the covid pandemic to the Ukraine war; and each one grew and multiplied in its consequences and became more difficult to resolve because of the problems created at the same time by the others.

Throughout these trials and tribulations, Jacinda (one of the few politicians to be instantly recognisable by her first name alone) has borne a huge burden of responsibility on her slim shoulders. While the voices of protest have threatened her with violence and urged us to reject her with venom and hatred, most Kiwis have recognised that she invariably approached her many tasks with good sense and calmness – qualities not always in evidence among her opponents and detractors.

It is entirely fitting that, in her valedictory message, she identified kindness as the defining characteristic of her approach to politics and to life itself. We will have less of that, sadly, in our national life and public affairs with her departure. For all you have done, thank you, Jacinda.