Watch the video: Jacinda Ardern says goodbye emotionally in Parliament – at the end her voice breaks.
STORY: With sensitive words, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, said goodbye to the country’s parliament. She thanked her family, her supporters and her party for an eventful time. The corona pandemic and the terrorist attacks in Christchurch fell during her more than five-year reign. “Every New Zealander should have the feeling that politics can be a home for him or her,” said the former prime minister. She started out as a volunteer in the Labor Party, handing out leaflets. And that’s exactly where she’s going to return, and she’ll be happy to do so. Wrapped in a korowai, the traditional Maori coat, the 42-year-old – daughter of a police officer and a school canteen operator – described herself as a “hugger” and “shouter”. She never expected to become prime minister. With her career she wants to inspire others to take office themselves. “You can be anxious and sensitive and you can wear your heart on your sleeve,” she said. “You can be a mother or not, an ex-Mormon or not. You can be all of those things, and not only can you be here, you can lead, just like me.” Ardern resigned as prime minister in January, saying she was “tired of running the country and would not seek re-election to parliament.” Although she was popular abroad, rising inflation, crime and controversial water and agricultural reforms in her last year in office had eroded her support at home. Her successor, Chris Hipkins, on Tuesday named Ardern a volunteer special envoy for the Christchurch Call, an initiative she co-founded to bring countries and tech companies together to fight extremism.