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As a woman in politics, Jacinda Ardern has endured her fair share of insults.
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Maori leader Ngahihi Bidois compared Ardern to the character from Looney Tunes during a campaign stop in Rotorua. Source: 1 NEWS
But today in Rotorua, the Labor leader received an unexpected new nickname from Maori leader Ngahihi Bidois while campaigning.
Ardern laughed and smiled when Bidois, speaking at a tourism industry roundtable, compared her to a cartoon character from Looney Tunes.
“We want to thank you for being an outstanding road runner and avoiding Coyote Covid, all the traps they have set for us as a country,” he said.
“Thank you for keeping Rotorua and Aotearoa safe.”
Ardern is campaigning in the North Island regional electorates this week en route to the October 17 elections.
The Labor leader is in enemy territory in the Bay of Plenty.
Rotorua’s electorate is easily in the hands of the opposition National Party, just like any other general electorate on its border.
However, as Bidois’s flattering presentation shows, Ardern is held in high regard by many for his government’s efforts to eliminate Covid-19 from the community earlier this year.
“I think it was all in a good mood and it was definitely a compliment,” a beaming Ardern said afterward.
While in the iconic resort town, Ardern announced plans to support the Maori New Year, known as Matariki, which will become New Zealand’s 12th public holiday.
“It’s a celebration that the time has come,” he said.
“It’s unique to New Zealand. It’s unique about our place in the world … and for us the recognition of our culture and our history.”
The idea, which already had the support of the Maori Party and the Greens, was attacked by others.
The Right Libertarians Act resorted to name calling, saying that Ardern was “in la la land” and that “New Zealanders don’t need a day off, they need Jacinda Ardern to take three years off.”
NZ First, a coalition partner for National and Labor, said they did not support the call.
For the hardest hit tour operators in Rotorua, a new holiday was just what the doctor ordered.
“Absolutely brilliant,” said Bruce Thomasen, Redwoods Treewalk CEO.
“A long weekend is a 300 percent increase in billing over Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
“It is beyond our wildest dreams that we have one.”
