Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-10-12)

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek October 12, 2020

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(LEFT),

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co-leaderoftheGreenParty,whichsupportsher

administration.“Shedidn’twantthejob—Andrew

Littlehadtotwistherarm,”saysShaw.“Ifyoulook

atsomeoftheseotherworldleaders,it’sallabout

them.Forher,it’sallabouteverybodyelse.”

Thedaughterofa policeofficer,Arderngrew

upinprovincialNewZealand,includinga small,

run-downforestrytownwhereshewitnessedchild

povertyfirsthand.Shecreditsthiswithsparkingan

interestinpolitics.BroughtupMormon,sheleft

thechurchinherearly20sbecauseitsviewsongay

rightsclashedwithhers.Shehasdescribedherself

as“sociallyliberal”andina recentpoliticaldebate

admittedtosmokingcannabisinheryouth.

In2018,Ardernbecamejustthesecondelected

worldleadertogivebirthinoffice,afterPakistan’s

BenazirBhutto.Herpartner,ClarkeGayford,juggled

hiscareerashostofa TVfishingshowtobea stay-

at-homefathertotheirdaughter,Neve.

Sincethen,Ardern’ssteady,empathetichan-

dlingofcriseshasdistinguishedherasmorethan

a trailblazer.OnMarch 15 lastyear,a gunmanwent

ona rampageattwomosquesintheSouthIsland

cityofChristchurch,killing 51 worshippersand

livestreaming the atrocity on social media. It was

the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s mod-

ern history. Ardern immediately reformed gun

laws, banning the weapons used in the attack. An

image of her wearing a hijab in solidarity with those

affected helped tamp down outrage toward New

Zealand that was brewing in Muslim nations.

When the coronavirus struck in February and

March, Ardern responded by imposing one of the

strictestlockdownsintheworld,effectivelyclos-

ingdowntheeconomyevenasthecountryhad

notchedbarely 200 cases.Thiswasbold.Butat

dailypressconferences,shecalmlyexplainedthe

reasoningbehindit andothergovernmentdeci-

sionsandurgedNewZealanders—the“teamoffive

million”—toobservetherulesand“bekind.”She

wouldoftenfollowupatnightwithFacebookLive

postsfromhome,wearinga casualsweaterand

lookingdirectlyintoherphoneasshereiterated

keymessages.It wasa masterclassincommuni-

cation,andit worked:Thepublicbroadlysup-

portedtherestrictions,andthepandemicwas

keptatbay.

It helpedthatNewZealandhasnaturaladvan-

tagesinthefightagainstCovid-19,asa smallisland

nationatthebottomoftheworld.A secondout-

breakinitslargestcity,Auckland—seizedonby

U.S.PresidentDonaldTrumpasa “bigsurge”—was

quicklybroughtundercontrolwitha regionallock-

down.Todate,thenationhastalliedjustover1,500

confirmedcasesofCovid-19andonly 25 deaths.

NewZealand’sdailylifeis mostlybacktonormal,

withnopandemicrestrictions.Now,asvoterslook

atthecarnagethevirusis stillcausingelsewhere,

Ardern’ssuccessagainstCovid-19is shieldingher

fromcriticism,saysLaraGreaves,whoteaches

NewZealandpoliticsattheUniversityofAuckland.

“She’sbeenanexcellentleaderthroughcrisis,

hasdisplayedgreatcommunicationandtheright

amountofempathy,”Greavessays.“Ifit weren’tfor

Covid,theelectionwoulddefinitelybea lotmore

aboutherpolicyfailings.”

Arderncametopowerpromisingtoaddress

growinginequalitiesandclosethegapbetweenrich

andpoor.Buthergoverningcoalitionditchedplans

fora capitalgainstaxoverconcernsit wastoopolit-

icallyrisky,anda programtobuildtensofthou-

sandsofaffordablehomesfellwellshortofgoals.

Housepriceshavecontinuedtoriseasdemandout-

stripssupply,climbing10%inthepasttwoyears

alone.Governmentpoliciestocutgreenhousegas

emissionsandcleanupriverswerecriticizedby

environmentalgroupsastooweak.Perhapsmost

gallingforArdern,heradministrationhasmade

little progress on reducing child poverty.

“It’s all very well to have grand plans, but there’s

no point if you can’t actually put it into practice,”

National Party leader Judith Collins, 61, said in a

recent interview. “I would be someone people can

rely on. And that’s the difference. I won’t say I can

do something if I can’t do it.”

Speaking to Bloomberg Businessweek on the

sidelines of her Oct. 1 campaign event, Ardern

defended her administration, saying it has laid the

◀ Ardern was the

youngest female head

of state, at 37, when she

took office in 2017

▼ Daily border arrivals,

New Zealand

20k

10

0

1/1/20 10/5/20

▼ Monthly electronic

card transaction activity,

seasonally adjusted,

NewZealanddollars

$8b

4

0

1/2020 8/2020