Jacinda Ardern Talks About her Leadership Goals Before She Became the Prime Minister

When she dropped into the VICE offices, we wanted to know more about her policies, her past, and her motivation.

“For me,” Ardern says, “getting into politics was all about finding the biggest way that I could make a difference. So when I was quite young I was motivated by wanting to, particularly, make changes for kids and child well-being… Eventually, I figured out politics was the way that you changed those big structural issues.”

Some of the biggest challenges, she tells VICE, include climate change, the unaffordability of housing, and the price of education. They are all issues that she and her party, she says, can only tackle from the top. “There is no point going through nine years of opposition politics, and the intensity of a campaign, unless you are absolutely committed to taking that top job. All the things I’ve ever been driven by in politics, we’re only going to achieve if we’re in a position of power.”
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[josh]

Being an American it's refreshing to see a sane head of government!

[socialistsolidarity]

The best PM in my lifetime...all the world leaders need to watch and learn from her.

[elora]

Love Jacinda Ardern. She has made Aotearoa so proud! A leader and such a great example to all other world leaders (also has not once "sarcastically" told the entire nation that bleach can be used to cure Covid-19).

[cromselectrical]

if all the leaders as good as her, it will be a great world to live..so smart, so humble, so beautiful in inside and out..Godbless you more PM JACINDA.

[bhbluebird]

A country with a population, roughly the size of Lousiana on a remote island out in the pacific, easily controllable borders with a relatively homogenous population (70% europoean). I'm guessing the level of complexity of an Island country that size is somewhat less than a country that encompasses a continent with adjacent borders. I like her, but I think it is ok to look at detail and nuance behind the successes.

[peface]

Absolutely love and proud of what Jacinda has achieved but we need to put the breaks on flooding NZ with immigrants! Almost 1 million new immigrants within a decade whilst our own people are homeless, living in cars, motels and garages, food banks cant keep up, massive housing crises, our hospitals struggling, infrastructure problems, pollution, the list goes on! We are losing ourselves and becoming second class citizens in our own country whilst the hundreds of thousands of new immigrants sitting in their fully furbished homes have no care whatsoever for the well being nor the suffering of our people living in their cars in the local reserve!

[peface]

Low wages, high cost of living, NZ flooded with immigrants and a housing crises. Thanks National

[johndonwood]

This interview reeks of public relations which is what was Ardern's major for her degree. All of her policies failed and kiwis don't care because she has good intentions. Good intentions don't pay bills or rent or food.

[mckwan]

Besides how she has handled the Chinese viruse as a NZ citizen I've seen her do nothing. NZ is still as poverty stricken as ever. 👎