The Interview
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Jacinda Ardern and Iâm the prime minister of New Zealand. And Iâm the third female prime minister, the second youngest, and the youngest female prime minister.
What really matters to you, particularly in your role as a leader?
People drive everything that I do, everything that Iâve ever been motivated to do and I think that even when youâve got some of the most challenging, difficult problems or youâre looking to take on the most challenging or difficult roles, if itâs all centred around the thing that motivates you the most in the world, then youâll be surprised what you can do and what you can overcome. So, for me, the fact that I do a job that is so centred on people, thatâs what keeps me going.
What were the seeds of that? Did you have a particular ambition or aspiration as a young person? Where did this idea about caring about other people come from?
I just can always remember being a pretty angsty child. I worried about people around me; I noticed if children around me didnât have what I had; Iâve very clear memories of living in a very small town in New Zealand that went through a pretty tough period, and my dad was the local policeman there. So we moved to this little town of 3,000 people and I vividly remember when kids didnât have food to eat at school. I remember walking home one day and seeing a little boy in the middle of winter who just didnât have any shoes. And things like that really raised so many questions for me, so I think in large part it was just part of who I was, but otherwise I also learned a huge amount from my parents. To this day people ask me who my role models are and of all of the world leaders that I could possibly choose, I still choose my mother and my father. My mother was just, for me, the epitome of kindness; if she saw anyone in need around us sheâd be the first person to bake a casserole or whip up a cake. That was just the kind of person she was. So, in part, I probably got that angstiness from her.
Has there been a special individual or individuals that have particularly inspired you by their example or wisdom?
Yes, yes, yes! Iâve always been fascinated by people who endure, you know? Who, instead of choosing an easier road with their lives, choose to take on these enormous challenges, and itâs why I think people like Nelson Mandela, but also people like Ernest Shackleton, who just choose to take that path less travelled, and even though it comes with such adversity, keep going and bring people with them. That for me is incredible.
You were seventeen when you joined the Labour Party?
Yes, I joined a political party when I was a teenager and for me it wasnât because I thought a life in politics was for me. Absolutely no! In fact, if anything, I thought it looked like a very hard life. It was because I was one of those young people that thought Iâd like to change the world, even if it was in the smallest of ways, it just felt like I was doing something that would make a difference. So, in amongst my job of working at a supermarket as a check-out girl, I wanted something that felt a bit more meaningful, and even if that was just delivering flyers, or knocking on doors, that was enough for me to make me feel like I was doing something useful. So I probably could have joined a political party a lot earlier than that! But, you know, it set me on a path I didnât expect.
At seventeen did you imagine ever that you would become prime minister?
Until the day before I became prime minister I couldnât have imagined becoming prime minister! And in part thatâs because Iâm a New Zealander and we are naturally quite a self-deprecating people, and part, if Iâm honest, itâs probably because Iâm also a women who looks more quickly at my deficits; the things that Iâm not good at, rather than what I am. But either way, I never would have imagined as a child that I would end up doing a role like this, because I grew up in a very small town, and there are one hundred and twenty MPs (members of Parliament) in New Zealand. How could I possibly imagine being one of them?
Youâve become an internationally famous person, a role model for many around the world, but it was just over three years ago that the then-leader of the Labour Party called you into his office and said, âI donât think I can get there,â and said that he wanted to place his trust in you. I remember that first press conference . . .
So do I!
. . . the impact you made, and the authority and confidence you brought to that moment. I think many people around New Zealand felt that perhaps you didnât have enough experience, or that you were too young. What gave you the confidence to suddenly step forward?
Youâre absolutely right. It was my birthday when the leader of the political party that I was then deputy leader of, said to me, âI donât think I can get the numbers up in order for us to win the election.âv It was seven weeks away and I remember being absolutely adamant [saying], âYou have to stay.â I thought we needed to be consistent and that people wouldnât appreciate us losing a leader so close to an election, but heâd made his mind up. And at that point I thought, âWell, heâs decided, now I just need to get on with it.â There wasnât a question in my mind that now I had a job to do and that I could do it. You know itâs one thing to not be able to necessarily imagine yourself in that position, but when youâre there youâre just actually thinking, âRight, thereâs no time for me to second-guess myself now, people donât need to hear me question anything right now, they just need to know, and hear me say, âI can.ââ And so, in that moment, I absolutely knew I could and so it was just a matter of going out there an...