Chris Hipkins set to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand PM

[webfact]

CREDIT: BEN MCKAY/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

 

By Antoinette Radford
BBC News

 

New Zealand Labour MP Chris Hipkins is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after becoming the only nominee for the party's leadership.

 

He was first elected to parliament in 2008 and was appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.

 

In Ms Ardern's shock announcement on Thursday she said she did not have "enough in the tank" to lead.

 

Full story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64355484

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2023-01-21

[TooPoopedToPop]

There, that's better.

[AndyFoxy]

Horrible woman. As for the new guy, just a wet blanket.

[JonnyF]

Let's hope he's not another ultra authoritarian powermonger masquerading as a #bekind "liberal" like Ardern (or Trudeau for that matter).

 

The last few years under this woman are a dark period in Antipodean history that all New Zealanders need to learn from.

 

Let's hope Canada gets some good news soon as well.

[pegman]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

Let's hope he's not another ultra authoritarian powermonger masquerading as a #bekind "liberal" like Ardern (or Trudeau for that matter).

 

The last few years under this woman are a dark period in Antipodean history that all New Zealanders need to learn from.

 

Let's hope Canada gets some good news soon as well.

Bad news for you fascists. Trudeau is only a year into his 3rd term. It will be nearly another 3 years till the Tories lose to him again. 

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, AndyFoxy said:

Horrible woman. As for the new guy, just a wet blanket.

Not true.

[n00dle]

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Let's hope Canada gets some good news soon as well.

 Understatement of the year.

I cringe when I take a frank look at Canada these days.

[AnnaBanana]

@TooPoopedToPop

   Next time luvvy, come to Thailand for your dental prosthetics.

   They do a much better job at a fraction of the price.

[gomangosteen]

4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

The last few years under this woman are a dark period in Antipodean history that all New Zealanders need to learn from.

 

Eas to make these inane, vacuous statements on an internet forum.

So often the criticism has come from an aged white redneck demographic unable to cope with a younger woman in any position perceived as 'powerful' ...just sayin'

Care to back it up with facts?

[stevenl]

43 minutes ago, AnnaBanana said:

@TooPoopedToPop

   Next time luvvy, come to Thailand for your dental prosthetics.

   They do a much better job at a fraction of the price.

Extremely sad comment showing a horrible sexist attitude.

Edited January 21, 2023 by stevenl

[pegman]

54 minutes ago, n00dle said:

 Understatement of the year.

I cringe when I take a frank look at Canada these days.

Care to explain that statement? I've lived most of my long life in Canada and unless your a conservative things have never been better in my view. 

[AndyFoxy]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Not true.

It’s an opinion. Just like yours.

[Bangkok Barry]

Reading the comments, is there any country anywhere in which the politicians are liked and respected?

[stevenl]

23 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Reading the comments, is there any country anywhere in which the politicians are liked and respected?

Do you think the comments here are representative of a population?

[gomangosteen]

55 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Do you think the comments here are representative of a population?

You're right, they're not.

In the most recent NZ General Election (Oct 2020) Jacinda Ardern gained 70.1% of the vote in her electorate. The Labour Party gained 50.0% across the country giving them 65 seats from 120 under the MMP voting system, allowing them to govern without needing the support of a coalition partner. The first time a NZ party has been able to govern without a coalition agreement since MMP was introduced in 1996.

 

The main opposition, National Party, received 25.6% of the vote, giving them 33 seats from 120.

Edited January 21, 2023 by gomangosteen

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Seems like she was pretty well respected on the international scene, despite some of the dinosaur opinions expressed above:

 

"In March 2019, in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Ardern reacted by rapidly introducing strict gun laws, winning her wide recognition.^[14]"  

 

Points for that.

 

"Throughout 2020 she led New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which she won praise for New Zealand being one of the few Western nations to successfully contain the virus.^[15]"

 

Points for that.

 

"She led the Labour Party to a landslide victory, gaining an overall majority of 65 seats in Parliament, the first time a majority government had been formed since the introduction of a proportional representation system in 1996.^{[17][18][19]"}

 

Points for that.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern

 

 

[mstevens]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Seems like she was pretty well respected on the international scene, despite some of the dinosaur opinions expressed above:

 

Yes, Jacinda Ardern was respected internationally. I imagine this is because people around the world listened to her words and liked what she said, but being outside of New Zealand they did not see the results of her actions in her homeland. This is why her popularity has plummeted in New Zealand and is certainly at least part of the reason she announced she would resign.

[thaibeachlovers]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

In Ms Ardern's shock announcement on Thursday she said she did not have "enough in the tank" to lead.

Pity she didn't discover that before the last election.

Not surprisingly, she did discover it when she became unpopular and faced losing badly in the upcoming elections.

Perhaps she realised she wasn't doing well when she started insulting other politicians in parliament.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Seems like she was pretty well respected on the international scene, despite some of the dinosaur opinions expressed above:

 

"In March 2019, in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Ardern reacted by rapidly introducing strict gun laws, winning her wide recognition.^[14]"  

 

Points for that.

 

"Throughout 2020 she led New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which she won praise for New Zealand being one of the few Western nations to successfully contain the virus.^[15]"

 

Points for that.

 

"She led the Labour Party to a landslide victory, gaining an overall majority of 65 seats in Parliament, the first time a majority government had been formed since the introduction of a proportional representation system in 1996.^{[17][18][19]"}

 

Points for that.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern

 

 

Seems like she was pretty well respected on the international scene, despite some of the dinosaur opinions expressed above:

 

Thankfully the "international scene" doesn't have a vote in NZ.

 

Just goes to show that you can fool some of the people, some of the time etc.

 

some of the dinosaur opinions expressed above:

Ah, so because people don't like her, they must be dinosaurs! LOL. Call me T Rex.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, mstevens said:

 

Yes, Jacinda Ardern was respected internationally. I imagine this is because people around the world listened to her words and liked what she said, but being outside of New Zealand they did not see the results of her actions in her homeland. This is why her popularity has plummeted in New Zealand and is certainly at least part of the reason she announced she would resign.

Had she been going to win the election,  I have no doubt she'd have stayed on.

 

Al Jazeera has a news item where she was hugging a lot of Labour people goodbye, and IMO they were as upset about their vanished prospects to win the election as they were to see her leave.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, gomangosteen said:

You're right, they're not.

In the most recent NZ General Election (Oct 2020) Jacinda Ardern gained 70.1% of the vote in her electorate. The Labour Party gained 50.0% across the country giving them 65 seats from 120 under the MMP voting system, allowing them to govern without needing the support of a coalition partner. The first time a NZ party has been able to govern without a coalition agreement since MMP was introduced in 1996.

 

The main opposition, National Party, received 25.6% of the vote, giving them 33 seats from 120. threat

Perhaps you can explain why, having won a majority and an outright victory, they came to be expected to lose large in just 2 years.

 

While I have no facts to support it, it's widely supported that many National voters voted for Labour to keep the greens out of government. IMO they are seen as a greater threat to the country than Labour.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"In March 2019, in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Ardern reacted by rapidly introducing strict gun laws, winning her wide recognition.^[14]"  

 

Points for that.

No points for the way it was done. The intention may have been good, but the execution was in the opinion of many a disaster.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2005/S00061/139m-gun-buyback-a-disaster-from-start-to-finish.htm

“The Auditor-General has been unable to determine whether the Government’s $139 million gun buyback scheme has made New Zealanders any safer”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"Throughout 2020 she led New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which she won praise for New Zealand being one of the few Western nations to successfully contain the virus.^[15]"

Successfully contain? Perhaps, but at the expense of the economy

 

https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/06-12-2021/the-real-impact-of-new-zealands-economic-response-to-covid-19

Contrary to many assumptions, New Zealand’s economic response to Covid was among the worst in the world in terms of widening wealth inequality and the wasteful use of taxpayer funds, argues Bernard Hickey.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, gomangosteen said:

Eas to make these inane, vacuous statements on an internet forum.

So often the criticism has come from an aged white redneck demographic unable to cope with a younger woman in any position perceived as 'powerful' ...just sayin'

Care to back it up with facts?

Care to prove your "aged white redneck demographic" claim? I doubt you can- IMO BS.

 

I guess your next claim will be that anyone doesn't like her is a misogynist. LOL.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Let's hope he's not another ultra authoritarian powermonger masquerading as a #bekind "liberal" like Ardern (or Trudeau for that matter).

 

The last few years under this woman are a dark period in Antipodean history that all New Zealanders need to learn from.

 

Let's hope Canada gets some good news soon as well.

Given that she sucked up all the media attention, I know nothing about the man as a person.

Apparently the Labour party is so short of potential PMs that he was the only nominee for the position.

[mstevens]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Al Jazeera has a news item where she was hugging a lot of Labour people goodbye, and IMO they were as upset about their vanished prospects to win the election as they were to see her leave.

 

BULLSEYE !!!

[mstevens]

49 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given that she sucked up all the media attention, I know nothing about the man as a person.

Apparently the Labour party is so short of potential PMs that he was the only nominee for the position.

 

He's not that bad and actually strikes me as being quite competent. The problem he has is that he is possibly the best of a very mediocre bunch.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, mstevens said:

 

He's not that bad and actually strikes me as being quite competent. The problem he has is that he is possibly the best of a very mediocre bunch.

I just hope they don't try and ram through a lot of woke policies before they get the order of the boot.

We don't need more cycle paths.