Jacinda Ardern
A review of

Jacinda Ardern

Leading with Empathy

Supriya Vani and Carl HarteOneworld • 2021

Ardern’s Remarkable Journey

by David Meyer

This personal and political portrait illuminates New Zealand’s admired, astute leader, Jacinda Ardern.

In this biography, authors and community activists Supriya Vani and Carl A. Harte detail Jacinda Ardern’s compassionate approach to governance. As prime minister of New Zealand, Ardern is renowned for her grace, humility and astuteness. Whether through pursuing social justice, fighting for effective climate change policies or facing a global health crisis, Ardern proves that politicians can be effective while maintaining their humanity.

“Rogernomics”

Jacinda Ardern was born in the North Island town of Murupara, where she experienced the impact of then-Finance Minister Roger Douglas’s economic policies. Douglas had instigated extreme deregulation. “Rogernomics” hit New Zealand’s unions hard, as Reaganism and Thatcherism did in the United States and the United Kingdom. Experiencing personal hardship as a youngster informed Ardern’s empathetic approach to politics.


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