Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern is notably missing in the New Zealand election campaign. The elections are due in the country on October 14, 2023.
Richard Shaw, a political professor at Massey University, noted that an appearance by Ardern in the campaign could rally the political right against Labour more than it would rally Labour’s party faithful, The Guardian reports.
Further, quoting a former Labour MP, Sue Moroney, The Guardian added, Ardern had become a “lightning rod for very toxic behaviour and for any discontent people felt for a range of reasons. Ardern had been the target of derogatory bullying and death threats. “I imagine it is somewhat of a relief for her not to be present in the country.”
But Ardern is also following a pattern in New Zealand politics where former prime ministers typically give their successor space to develop their own mandates and leadership styles, Moroney noted.
Ardern dominated political life in New Zealand for five years, until her shock resignation in January 2023. Now, as she wrote on Instagram in April, she is “helpfully” at Harvard during New Zealand’s election campaign, The Guardian said.
Ardern is at Harvard University in three different roles for a semester. She “was incredibly wise to step down when she did,” said Danny Osborne, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Auckland.
“It gave Labour a fighting chance,” he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Still, New Zealand’s major political polls, according to the report, have shown a continued downward trend for Labour in recent months. The party slumped 2.5 points to 26.9% in this month’s Guardian Essential New Zealand poll.