New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern,42, surprised the world by announcing her resignation from the helm. February 7 will be her last day in the office. “I am leaving because of this privileged role, comes responsibility, the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not…I know what this job takes and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” These were their last words Jacinda which did not unveil the ‘real reason’ for her exit.

Ms Ardern had been re-elected in the previous general election of 2020, confirming her big popularity, following her successful handling of the pandemic. But her second term was in difficult domestic issues with record levels of inflation, a housing affordability crisis, rising crime rates, and a backlash against progressive policy initiatives. These resulted in the New Zealand National Party overtaking the Labour group in poll ratings, leaving her as the most preferred politician to lead the country.