praised and endorsed worldwide. With more than 165 million infections and 3.46 million virus-induced deaths reported worldwide, state leaders elsewhere continue to battle to suppress the virus, while the Kiwi leader targeted complete elimination instead. The island nation of nearly 5 million people, has in fact seen less than 2,700 cases and only 26 deaths. As the rest of the world continued to grapple with a surge in infections, with patients being treated in ambulances and hospital car parks, in New Zealand, over 30,000 fans gathered at the Wellington Stadium, to witness the rugby match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.
Subsequently, in October last year, the Pacific island nation held its general election in which PM Ardern’s Labour Party swept to an extraordinary victory and made history as the first party to claim an outright majority in the 120-seat Parliament. However, the Prime Minister’s deft handling of the pandemic was not the only factor which won her a second term.
Known as the darling of most New Zealanders and a role model for millions of women around the world, PM Ardern became the country’s most popular Prime Minister in a century according to opinion polls, as she attracted headlines for being the youngest individual to hold her office and for giving birth while leading a country. The once small-town takeout store worker has been widely praised for her strong and compassionate leadership, as she won the hearts of the nation for her empathetic handling of the Christchurch mosque attacks, and the deadly eruption of the Whakaari/ White Island volcano.
During her first term, she also banned…
