After the price hike, the increase in crimes, and the receding of the epidemic
Jacinda Ardern .. The famous New Zealand politician is losing popularity
Protests against the policies of the Jacinda Ardern government.
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Ardern has gained huge popularity due to her likable personality.
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Ardern's success in dealing with the pandemic helped lift her party to an outright majority in Parliament, during the last election.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remains a leading liberal voice, in the West and elsewhere.
During her recent trip to the United States, she gave the opening speech at Harvard University, and met in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden.
At each stop, she highlighted her successes in passing gun restrictions and dealing with the pandemic.
In New Zealand, however, Ardern's star is fading, rising food, fuel and rent prices are making life more difficult for many New Zealanders, and gang violence has increased, shocking suburban residents, who are not accustomed to worrying about their safety.
More importantly, there are deep doubts about the prime minister's ability to deliver the "transformative" change she has promised on fundamental problems: house prices are at sky-high levels, the country's carbon emissions are rising, despite her government's pledges, and child poverty rates remain Remarkably high.
Opinion polls show Labor at the lowest level of support in five years, with elections looming in 2023. Morgan Godfrey, a liberal writer and renowned lecturer at the University of Otago, Dunedin, said this reflects the view that Ardern "has not done so." what is necessary” in relation to the issues of concern to the voters.
"New Zealanders who see this, day in and day out, are frustrated by the political stagnation," said Godfrey. "But if you look from the outside, you don't see a lack of politics, you see the character of a successful prime minister, and that's where the mismatch appears." .
Ardern has built international stature as a progressive feminist and "nice" leader, who rose to prominence when a wave of right-wing populism swept the United States and other countries, and which allowed her to amass extraordinary popularity for a leader of a small country.
wide acclaim
In her first term, she won widespread acclaim for leading her country in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque massacre and in dealing with the pandemic.
Within days, of the mosque shooting, it announced a blanket ban on offensive weapons, and after the arrival of the coronavirus, swift action was taken to stamp out the virus through closures and border controls, largely maintaining normal life.
Her success in dealing with the pandemic helped lift her party to an absolute majority in parliament during the last election, in October 2020, the first time any party has won a majority since the country transitioned to its current electoral system in 1993.
But that may also cause its current problems.
With New Zealand emerging from the pandemic with one of the lowest death rates in the world, "there was a sense that the government could really do the impossible by tackling the virus, which has swept the rest of the world," said Ben Thomas, a conservative writer.
Now, with most restrictions lifted, the Ardern government has ended its united war against the pandemic, and much of the party support has ended.
The prime minister now faces soaring inflation, an increase in gun violence, and scant progress on issues that have baffled New Zealand for decades.
"The prime minister has gone from untouchable levels to being a normal politician again," Thomas said.
Ardern, 41, is one of many world leaders whose popular support has waned amid economic crises caused by the war in Ukraine and supply chain problems linked to the pandemic.
Biden's approval rating has reached 40%, and French President Emmanuel Macron lost his party's parliamentary majority in an election marked by frustration with the cost of living.
government problem
New Zealand's 6.9% inflation rate is lower than the average (9.2%) in the developed world as a whole, and Ardern has responded to criticism by pointing to global pressures beyond her control.
"The entire world is experiencing the worst economic shock since the Great Depression, with the war in Ukraine and pandemic-related supply chain issues adding to the worst rise in inflation in decades," said Andrew Campbell, a spokesman for the prime minister.
Among other measures, her government announced a NZ$350 ($220) payment to middle- and low-income New Zealanders to help mitigate increases in the cost of living.
However, many see the government's action measures as insufficient compared to measures in other countries.
"This is not the government's fault, but the government's problem," Thomas said.
Ardern found herself grappling with rising gun violence, with 23 gang-related shootings reported in late May and early June, and two formerly allied gangs fighting for influence.
On occasion, police officers, who are usually unarmed in New Zealand, have been forced to carry guns in parts of Auckland, the country's largest city.
Last week, Ardern demoted the police minister, saying she had lost "focus".
The prime minister's current difficulties are the latest development in an unexpectedly rapid political ascent.
make breakthroughs
Political analysts say they are not sure whether New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, can make breakthroughs on any of the long-standing issues to help improve her situation.
Successive governments have failed to rein in an overheated housing market.
The problem has been exacerbated under the Ardern government, as median home prices rose by 58 percent between 2017 and 2021.
Last year, the median home price exceeded NZ$1 million, or $626,000.
The country also suffered from chronic child poverty, which causes remarkably high rates of rheumatic fever and lung disease in a developed country.
In 2017, Ardern declared reducing child poverty a key goal.
Currently, 13.6 percent of New Zealand children live in poverty, down from 16.5% in 2018, but more than the government's target of 10.5%.
And despite the prime minister's promise to tackle climate change, emissions have increased by 2.2% since 2018.
Andrew Campbell, a spokesman for the prime minister, said the government had made progress on key issues, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
"We have continued to address the long-term challenges our country has faced, including overseeing the largest government housing program in decades, lifting tens of thousands of children out of poverty, and taking real climate action," he said.
But Morgan Godfrey, a liberal writer and lecturer at the University of Otago, said Ardern didn't get enough help from her team translating her speech into policy, explaining that "Ms. Ardern is a really caring person, with a deep commitment to issues of inequality, climate change and child poverty." "But often this does not translate into a concrete political programme," he continued.
growing threats
Threats against New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have nearly tripled over the course of three years, amid mounting conspiracy movements and a backlash against the government's health policies.
New data showed that the police recorded 18 threats in 2019. In 2020, the number rose to 32, and in 2021 the police dealt with 50 threats against the prime minister.
Ardern became a springboard for mistreatment, suspicion and threats among opposition groups, particularly during the weeks of February protests, when rallies near Parliament and the streets around it turned violent, with several police officers assaulted and parts of Parliament set ablaze.
Several protesters called for the trial and public execution of Ardern, and other prominent politicians and public officials.
While the police were unable to determine the motives for each individual threat, the documents showed that anti-vaccination sentiment was a driving force for a number of threats, and opposition to legislation to regulate firearms after the March 15 mass shooting was another factor.
sudden victory
After her sudden rise to the leadership of the Labor Party in 2017, a wave of "Jacinda's popularity" swept the prime minister's party, spurred on by her new face and promises of major reforms, to form a government with two smaller parties, in a surprise victory over the national centre-right.
Three years later, in the subsequent national elections, half of the electorate supported the Labor Party.
As of February this year, opinion polls showed that the party still won the support of up to 50 percent of voters.
That month, the government began easing coronavirus restrictions.
With the pandemic fading as an issue, Labor support has now averaged 35% in opinion polls, the National Party stands at 40%, and including allied parties, both sides are tied on the ballot.
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Average Labor support in recent polls, with the pandemic fading as an issue.
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dollars for middle and low income earners to help mitigate increases in the cost of living.
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