The revival of socialism in mainstream politics has been one of the bigger developments of the last five years. Ardern was grinning. The first step would be recalling that it was more than just a merciless assault on welfare. Discussions surrounding a potential delay in elections gripped many countries around the . At age 28, she was its youngest member. Previously the youngest Prime Minister, it appears she has run out of energy right when public opinion is turning on her beloved Labour Party. Labour had, after all, just come off a stunning landslide election win that gave it a single-handed outright majority, a first since the countrys 1996 electoral reforms. The second press conference I wrote on my phone on the way to Wellington.. Jacinda governs by dictate. In an event like this I can only assume, because Ive never been through one before theres not a lot of time available to think about the language you want to use. There cannot be a case of all profit, no responsibility., This isnt a New Zealand issue, this is a global one, says Ardern today, carefully choosing her words. She calls herself a progressive. A crescent moon hangs in the blue sky above. [Peters] said I think we need to be there, says Ardern. That 1991 document had aimed to complete the neoliberal revolution started by Labour itself in the mid-1980s. Let our Puffin Ambassadors tell you why you should pick up Coastwatcher, a thrilling adventure novel for 9+ readers. Within hours, Trump was doing the opposite, throwing his weight behind a Fox News broadcaster who had questioned the patriotism of a Muslim congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, because she wore a hijab. Its nice that Labours not afraid of the word socialist anymore. Arderns Labour-led coalition government was under constant scrutiny: could she achieve the transformational reform shed promised, when every change in the law meant scratching the backs of her coalition partners? Asked whether she, too, was a socialist, Ardern once president of the International Union of Socialist Youth professed that Ive always described myself as a democratic socialist but that I have never found those terms particularly useful in New Zealand because we do not tend to talk in those terms here., Here it is more common to say progressive, or member of the Labour Party, she explained. They do it mostly because they want to confuse you. Trump had by then called to offer his condolences, and asked what he could do to help. 493 The biggest misconception about Jacinda Ardern is that she is a pioneering progressive or socialist. The couples mothers are the main backup unit, especially when Gayford is away shooting Fish Of The Day, his fishing-travel-cooking hybrid show for the National Geographic channel. It has no place in NZ. I could hear her off to the side. Shes changing the game. And the tragedy is that most people are completely unaware that it is happening. Jacinda Ardern's graceful departure is the personification of modern democratic ideals Van Badham The New Zealand prime minister's bold and resolute leadership neutralised hoary stereotypes. Theres no point at which you can say: I give up on being a parent or I give up on doing this job., There is no nanny. Her partner, Clarke Gayford, she smiles, is not impressed. Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern (/ d s n d r d r n / j-SIN-d ar-DURN; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. Two police officers stand by the glass doors, cradling semi-automatic weapons. I found this hard to believe. In this respect, New Zealands 2021 budget looks less like a repudiation of Ruth Richardsons ideology than the furthest left you can go while operating under it. We may have left flowers, performed the haka, sung songs or simply embraced. I just thought about sentiments, and what I thought needed to be conveyed., Ardern has been at pains to say that what happened on 15 March is not her story, but one that belongs to the victims and their families, to the injured, to Muslim communities, to Christchurch. And the budget further tilted economic policy in a trickle-up direction, with beneficiaries losing one-fifth of their income (or as high as one-third for single-parent beneficiaries), even as the rich prospered. One Christchurch-based broadcaster issued an apology for an earlier column about Islam, saying, I look back at my comments ashamed. And in a powerful speech a week after the attack, Gamal Fouda, the imam of Al Noor mosque, where 42 worshippers were killed, said the murders did not come overnight, but were the result of the anti-Muslim rhetoric of some political leaders, media agencies and others. She doesnt run out of words. The New Zealand "Socialists" Who Govern Like Neoliberals By Branko Marcetic Since releasing its budget substantially boosting welfare last week, leading figures in New Zealand's Labour Party have been painting themselves as socialists overturning the country's neoliberal order. But personally, Id prefer a lineup of self-described liberals governing like socialists, rather than a group of proud socialists governing like neoliberals. watched as international politics has continued to change while serving as the president of the International Union of Socialist Youthan umbrella organisation of over 150 progressive youth movements from . Its heartening to see New Zealands Labour government finally acting on years of pleas and demands to take the popular measure of lifting benefits. Soon he was joined by several others. They were stories of bravery. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's full speech at the opening of the APEC CEO Summit 2021. Its chosen not to forgive debt owed to the ministry in charge of welfare, nor acted on the WEAGs calls to lift punitive sanctions on beneficiaries. It was explicitly an ideological project. The case that Labours budget last week avenges these misdeeds is based on its $3.3 billion boost to welfare, set to incrementally rise over the next year, first in July, then in April 2022. And is New Zealand Labour returning to its semi-socialist roots? Meeting Muslim community leaders in Wellington following the attack. This was my first press conference. Earlier that decade, she lived for two and a half years in London, where she worked in Tony Blairs Cabinet Office. The critical thing has been the inclusive approach. You just have to. The definition of "comrade" from An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marxism, Socialism and Communism is as follows: Originally, one who shares the same chamber. I stand here as a very proud member of the great socialist democratic Labour Party, proclaimed New Lynn MP Deborah Russell. On Saturday 16 March, after another press conference in Wellington, Ardern flew south to Christchurch, where she met members of the Muslim community. What words express the grief of a city that has already known so much pain? We will remember the tears of our nation, and the new resolve we have formed. It just wasnt something she thought about, she said, hardly at all. But how much do you really know about Jacinda Ardern? Here are some of the best-non fiction audiobooks read aloud by the authors themselves. Now, whether you agree with her political philosophy is where the difference lies. And you dont pick that sort of thing up because youre not a Marxist. Shes not putting on an act. The elements of that surprised me, says Ardern today. The whole thing has already prompted a predictable counterresponse from the New Zealand right, replete with hammer and sickle and Soviet-style lettering. Given we are facing what is likely to be many years of economic turmoil and hardship, the political ideology of our Government needs to be laid bare so we can gain insights into what a post-Covid-19 New Zealand economy might look like. Do you liken yourself to Jacinda Ardern? And my bet is that no one would. This past week in New Zealand saw an apparently spontaneous series of self-outings by professed democratic socialists among the countrys Labour Party. She had just seen her partner return to his spot in the third row of plastic seating with Neve propped up on his knee, having just had a nappy change in the back seat of a car around the corner. The level of detail that she has to absorb, and is able to retain, blows my mind. They are us. His views are his own and do not represent Massey University. And then I came here and was met with this simple greeting. It was time to torpedo the status quo, he said, and at 72, he opted to become deputy to a thirtysomething prime minister. It is just 10 days since a terrorist attack in Christchurch took the lives of 50 people at prayer. And its good to see them, albeit slowly, adopting the commonsense point that putting money in the pockets of the least well-off is actually good for the economy. Of course she needed to project New Zealands voice, but her focus was on domestic priorities. Our challenge now is to make the very best of us, a daily reality. The failure of socialism can be traced to its neglect of these three . You know, the Muslim community was so obviously targeted, and they wear their faith so openly., There was no need to deliberate on her decision not to use the name of the terrorist, either: It just seemed obvious to me. She had received no report, no advice reflecting the wealth of research that urges political leaders and the media to deny terrorists the notoriety they crave. Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern (born July 26, 1980), also known as Aunty Cindy or simply Cindy, or Jabcinda is the far-left socialist globalist agnostic former Prime Minister and dictator of New Zealand.She served as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023, and is the second elected and third overall female Prime Minister of New Zealand after Helen Clark and the second . Observers waited to see how Labour would spend the oodles of political capital it had gathered off the back of one of the worlds best pandemic responses. Her partner is Clarke Gayfo Learn more about Jacinda in Taking the Lead: How Jacinda Ardern Wowed the World, out now in your local bookstore. UPDATE 2: Chris sent us the uncropped original (click for larger view): Apologies to the Schnews that was actually a pretty good wee publication that came out of Brighton, England. He is an extremist, she told parliament four days later. In the wake of New Zealands worst terror attack, the prime minister talks frankly about the aftermath, global scrutiny and how a nation heals. I think its just the nature of an event like this. You may know her as the youngest and third female Prime Minister of New Zealand, the first head of government to take maternity leave and the powerfully empathetic responder in times of crisis. But, otherwise, I dont tend to draw parallels. She paused. I wonder if they get asked the same question. She is sharp mentally. The Spinoffs political coverage is powered by the generous support of our members. I didnt mean it that way. To see people from across society, people who maybe have never even known anyone who goes to a mosque, come out with the flowers and the donations and say: this is not the New Zealand we know and love.). She wooed the world with talk of kindness and compassion, while at home ruling like a dictator. But, no, I didnt think about particular words. Well, considering no night last week finished before midnight and some mornings started before five for her, I can understand, he replies. Or do we all need to have the exact same amount of income and wealth? However, she just couldnt stop her desire to help others and ended up working at a New York soup kitchen, serving food to the poor and homeless people of the city. It continues to severely underinvest in areas like health care, infrastructure, and climate change out of debt concerns that put it out of step with even the worlds right-wing politicians and economists. The 2009 union meeting is relevant not just because Ardern was president, but because the official resolutions outlined progressive answers to the financial crisis aka the global financial crisis or GFC. It felt very deliberate: was it? He took our minister for ethnic communities with him, and made a powerful statement. To understand the idealogical beliefs of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern we can look back to her time as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, writes Steve Elers. Comrades means something. Jacinda started her political career in high school. At school, her mother once revealed, she convened a happy club. Wouldnt it be good if the president of the United States showed greater moral leadership? And it took aim at New Zealands old-age pension system, raising the retirement age from sixty to sixty-five and freezing payments for two years. They were stories of those who were born here, grew up here, or who had made New Zealand their home. Jacinda Ardern, in full Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern, (born July 26, 1980, Hamilton, New Zealand), New Zealand politician who in August 2017 became leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and then in October 2017, at age 37, became the country's youngest prime minister in more than 150 years. The Unions focus was human rights and equal opportunities for the worlds children. I am here today to bring with me the grief of all New Zealand, she said. A responsibility to be the place that we wish to be. The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and most of those who graduated from the Marxist group the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) are actually followers of Leon Trotsky (1879 -1940). Get our print magazine for just $20 a year. It focused on her pledge to make 2019 a year of delivery, and some signs that the halo of the Jacindamania that brought her to office had begun to dim. Who had sought refuge, or sought a better life for themselves or their families. Its decision to stagger the boost means families in need will now be pointlessly deprived of much-needed funds until next year. To see people from across society, people who maybe have never even known anyone who goes to a mosque, come out with the flowers and the donations and say: this is not the New Zealand we know and love.). Read the story being discussed on Jesse Mulligans show on Radio New Zealand on 17 May 2018. Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's young politicians, Sarah Hall sits down with her to find out just what her aspirations are. Not today. Jacinda was President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. (I spoke to Clark a few days after the Christchurch attack, and she told me Arderns response had resonated because it was authentic. The exact number of years Jacinda Ardern was a member of the radical hard left group the International Union of Socialist Youth is unknown, but given she turned 20 in 2001, its likely to be around 10 years. 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