Danger lurks for Ardern even as his star power dominates New Zealand elections | World News

On the lush green grounds of New Zealand’s oldest university, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is being harassed.

Half a dozen police officers push their way through the crowd in Dunedin, as their security team strongly flanks Ardern and grows tense as the crowd grows larger and more demanding.

His details are clearly taken aback by the intensity of interest and the crowd’s unwillingness to give up their chance to literally brush with the prime minister.

Dressed in a brown coat and with her typical cheery smile, her tiny body is eaten by hundreds of students clamoring for a selfie, a handshake or a brief moment of connection.

The scenes of such approval for a political figure are unprecedented in New Zealand. In the year of chaos that is 2020, Ardern’s everyday life has become extraordinary; a balm after months of strangeness and change.

“Kia pray, Jacinda; thank you Aunt; hey my sister!“ students scream, as the windows of the surrounding buildings are flung open and staff and students lean out as far as they can to see the commotion. Some, seeing the prime minister, leave their workplaces and run downstairs to join the crowd.

Earlier, while a climate change policy seen in some sectors as disappointing was being announced, the metallic gray sky darkened to black and thick raindrops began to fall. Ardern’s caretakers came in with large umbrellas to protect her, but she pushed them aside.

“If you can get wet, I can get wet too!” yells at the crowd, that shout support your approval.

“I’m a huge fan of what Jacinda has been up to in New Zealand, and I just wanted to see her and thank her,” says Oscar Thomas, 20, a college student.

“I am really inspired by her, she is calm, calm and collected. She seems genuine. Somebody recently called her a famous prime minister, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to idolize someone like that if they’re doing a much better job than everyone else. “

The Ardern brand

The general election is just a week away and the Ardern brand ranks high in polls, routinely registering more than 50% as the preferred prime minister.

The Labor Party continues to score 15 points above the opposition National Party and has a strong chance of ruling alone – a rarity in New Zealand’s mixed member proportional electoral system (MMP), which is designed to install coalition governments.

Labor’s position has been bolstered by the prime minister’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, which, although it has plunged the country into a recession, has garnered praise from observers. Other crises during his tenure include the March 2018 mosque shootings, the Whakaari White Island eruption in December last year.

Opposition leader Judith Collins took note of Ardern’s “goodness” during the pandemic, saying that the prime minister would offer voters only “love and a hug” in the wake of the global pandemic. Collins, meanwhile, would offer them “hope and a job,” he said, promising a stronger financial response.

The prime minister has promised that strong poll numbers will not make her complacent, so she is dutifully traversing New Zealand on a somewhat artificial election campaign.

Her behavior is a marked change from the 2017 elections, when she was practically a stranger. Then, just seven weeks from voting day, he had to convince Kiwis that at 37 he had the experience and the seriousness to lead a country.

Now, at 40 years old, with multiple disasters, a global pandemic and a small child under his belt, he has nothing more to convince; and you only need to smile, excite and feel empathy at the right time.

The ‘waffle factor’

However, there have been some issues, including the abandonment of the KiwiBuild policy to address the housing crisis, problematic ministers, and allegations that its Labor Party has repeatedly failed to deliver a clear vision of its Covid-19 recovery strategy. .

Businessman Bruce Bernasconi attended Collins’ speech at the Otago Chamber of Commerce in Dunedin the day after Ardern’s visit. He said he planned to vote for Collins. “All of their answers were so accurate, there are not many waffles,” Bernasconi said. “Jacinda has celebrity status and sometimes she doesn’t represent anything, you can’t get a direct answer from her.”

It is this “waffle,” frequently discussed by political analysts after the leaders’ debates, that experts say is dangerous. Given the struggle to convey a post-Covid vision, the Labor Party appears to be relying on Ardern’s star power to lead them to a second term.

“Their brand is really on high, people feel like they have an international hero in Covid and they want to be a part of that,” says Jennifer Lees-Marshement, a political communication expert at the University of Auckland.

“It’s worrying when expectations are so high because you’re always bound to disappoint. No leader will have an easy trip over the coming year in New Zealand. And he has not yet articulated a clear vision, nor a clear political agenda. It is not clear what they have done and what they still plan to do. “

“She is not trying to win a mandate, she is not trying to win over anybody, so while this seems safe for Labor, it is actually a very dangerous strategy.”

Leadership and sympathy

The popularity of Ardern with children and young people cannot be underestimated. The prime minister has long declared that she entered politics to improve the lives of children, and her commitment to ending child poverty has become the defining promise of her political career.

They gravitate to the PM, and she makes time for each child, asking what school holidays are like and what subjects they enjoy. The warmth and friendliness that draws children in and makes them feel comfortable also seems to work for older voters.

“It is very special what Jacinda can do; She really combines that quality of leadership she needs with being friendly, kind, and down-to-earth. Ordinary people identify with it, ”says Tohunga Riwai, 21, a politics student.

“She’s not perfect, no leader is, but if she is given a few more years to rule, I think she can really keep New Zealand moving forward.”

Back in Dunedin, eating cheese rolls is a regular fixture of the New Zealand campaign, and morning tea March crowd at Hungry Hobbos on George Street; Order a dozen southern sandwiches.

As he heads to the exit, one of Ardern’s press secretaries shouts loudly, “Shall we pay?” as dozens of red-clad fans rush out the door, letting in a blast of cold air.

Ardern raises his hand and yells, “I paid!” before heading out to the gray streets, where his people wait in the rain.