WELLINGTON – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern faced her firstmajor crisis Friday over her handling of a gaffe-prone minister sresignation.
Ardern swept to power on a wave of “Jacinda-mania” late last year, with hercentre-left Labour Party leading a coalition that promised “a government ofchange”.
The optimism surrounding her administration was enhanced in June when shegave birth to daughter Neve — becoming only the second female leader inthe world to have a baby in office.
But the lustre surrounding the 38-year-old has dimmed in recent weeks amidpolicy squabbles with coalition partners and plummeting business confidence.
Ardern revealed Friday that her government had suffered its first casualty,with Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran resigning after using a privateemail account to conduct government business.
Curran, who had been disciplined twice previously for failing to declaremeetings, said she faced “intolerable pressure” and did not want to becomea distraction for the government.
But it was the way Ardern dealt with the problem that drew most criticism,with opponents accusing her of misleading the public.
Asked on talkback radio on Friday morning whether she was consideringfiring Curran, she replied: “No, I think she s paid her price.
“We want to make sure that you don t set the bar so high that you have asituation where you show a bit of human frailty and you lose your job overit.”
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In fact, Ardern had accepted Curran s resignation the previous night butfailed to mention it during the 10-minute interview.
Ardern later insisted that she answered the question correctly butopposition leader Simon Bridges zeroed in on her evasiveness, saying shehad mishandled the affair.
“The prime minister needs to explain why she misled New Zealanders thismorning by saying Ms Curran s job was safe when Ms Curran says she resignedlast night,” he said.
“This whole saga has seriously damaged the credibility of both the primeminister and the government.”
Another of Ardern s ministers, Meka Whaitiri, has stood aside from hercustoms portfolio while under investigation for an alleged physicalaltercation with a staffer.
Meanwhile coalition partner New Zealand First, led by populist veteranWinston Peters, has undermined her election pledge to lift New Zealand srefugee quota.
Ardern also came under fire this week for arriving late at a Pacific summitin Nauru to minimize time away from her baby, although defenders labeledsuch criticism petty and overly partisan. – APP/AFP
