NEW YORK – A leading American newspaper Friday applauded New Zealand PrimeMinister Jacinda Ardern’s leadership in the wake of last week’s tragicattack on two mosques in Christchurch.The world has watched as issues such as national grief, gun control, socialmedia streaming and religious freedom have been navigated by the world’syoungest female head of government, it was pointed out.The New York Times, in the editorial published Friday titled ‘AmericaDeserves a Leader as Good as Jacinda Ardern’, commends the 38-year-old forher stunning capacity to carry a nation through what she called NewZealand’s ‘darkest hour.In particular, it noted the stark contrast between the responses of NewZealand and the United States to mass shootings.“In New Zealand, it took one mass shooting to awaken the government. In theUnited States, even a string of mass killings — 26 dead in a school inNewtown, Connecticut; 49 in a nightclub in Orlando; 58 at a concert in LasVegas; 17 in a school in Parkland, Florida — has not been enough. Nor hasthe fact that 73 percent of Americans say that more needs to be done tocurb gun violence, according to recent polling,” it said.And it was not just the gun control issue that impressed.“In lieu of trite messages, she donned a black head scarf and led a groupof politicians to visit victims’ families; speaking without a script to aschool some of the victims attended, she urged the pupils to “let NewZealand be a place where there is no tolerance for racism. Ever.”She told grieving families, “We cannot know your grief, but we can walkwith you at every stage.”And in a striking gesture, she refused to utter the name of the suspectedkiller. “He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give himnothing,” she said. “Not even his name,” the editorial said.The article continued, “After this and any such atrocity, the world’sleaders should unite in clearly condemning racism, sharing in the grief ofthe victims and stripping the haters of their weapons.” Ms Ardern has shown the way.”The Christchurch shooting, reportedly carried out by a white supremacistfrom Australia, has revived the debate over US gun laws and over remarksPresident Donald Trump made after a white nationalist rally inCharlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, when he said there were “very finepeople on both sides.”The suspected gunman in a manifesto said he supported Trump as a “symbol ofrenewed white identity.”The president’s critics have accused him of stoking white nationalistsentiment, a claim the White House denies.Trump on Monday blasted the media, saying they were trying to blame him forthe New Zealand shooting.“The Fake News Media is working overtime to blame me for the horribleattack in New Zealand,” Trump tweeted. “They will have to work very hard toprove that one. So Ridiculous!”
US deserves a leader as good as New Zealand prime minister: NYT
