Labour’s caucus will elect a new deputy leader this week and they’d be stupid to not be on board with Jacinda Ardern.
Annette King’s most recent tenure as deputy was always meant to be a temporary arrangement, but she did leave with one last battle cry last week, sternly telling off the news media for floating the idea she was stepping aside for Ardern. Regardless, Ardern magically appeared on que when King announced her resignation. Labour shouldn’t be afraid to own this decision—it’s a cool move.
Jacinda (first name basis a bonus) has become a well-known campaigner for the Labour Party. She’s a brand in her own right. Young Labour see her as a hip role model. Auckland has fallen in love with her. Her coffee-‘n’-muffin balances Little’s union toast.
Ardern’s recent victory in the Mt. Albert by-election was an effective springboard, but it wasn’t her first. In 2014, she energised both the party’s senior members and student groups when she ran as Grant Robertson’s deputy in Labour’s leadership election, winning with caucus and party membership, despite losing to Andrew Little and his union backers.
Ardern is perceived as authentic and confident on campus and main street alike. She’s become a recognisable voice on national television and radio, pushing hard on the government’s sore issues: the Auckland housing crisis and child poverty. Better yet, she’s not associated with the last Labour-led government.
She could even become more popular than Andrew Little, and that’s a realistic risk. God forbid, imagine if there was another jading, “soul-searching” leadership competition before September, poisoning Labour’s chances and giving Patrick Gower another thing to smirk at.
Ardern represents a refreshing generational shift in New Zealand politics, which could be what’s needed in a party that still looks unable to shake off its bumbling image, communicate its relevance and challenge a stale third-term National-led government.