Jacinda Ardern brought words like "kindness" and "empathy" into the political debate in her native New Zealand.
As one of the youngest politicians ever to take office as head of government, she took office with the claim that politics should not only be about power, about authority and strength.
But it would be wrong to take her resignation announcement as a sign of weakness.
This also applies, although she justified the step herself with the fact that she simply lacked the strength for more years in government responsibility.
The admission proves the opposite in itself, but it fits the image Ardern wanted to paint of himself.
She did not want to leave as a political failure, but as a personality whose strength lies in openly admitting weakness.
It should be a reminder to those who hold on to their posts to the bitter end.
Her departure is a loss for New Zealand.
Even without him, there would have been an election.
Then the New Zealanders would most likely have decided for themselves that "it's time," as she put it.
Seen in this way, she acted according to a credo that didn't come from politics, but from entertainment: the best way to end a performance is on a high.