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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she still feels there are “molds” that politicians, including herself, are expected to fit into, but says she is trying to be prime minister “my way.”
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Ardern says she wants to be a progressive leader who recognizes emotions, but still feels that society is putting pressure for leaders to be stoic. Source: Mentemia
Ardern spoke with former All Black and mental health advocate Sir John Kirwan as part of his Mind Heads up series, and said he understands well that certain professions are subject to certain expectations.
The Prime Minister said she feels pressure to be and act a certain way, but has tried to be her own person.
“For me, it really started from the moment I was a politician – I think the same expectations around what politicians should be like extend to being prime minister,” Ardern said.
One particular occasion when she decided not to follow those expectations was when a media outlet asked her to be interviewed after a political uproar.
“We had had a brutal situation on the news and they wanted me to criticize the minister,” he said.
“And I told them, actually what happened here is not the fault of the minister, so I am not going to criticize the minister, but here are the things that I am going to say.
“And they said no, that we are not interested in you saying anything other than criticizing.
“In my mind, it wasn’t really worth it, so I said no, I didn’t do the interview and that for me I think it was a turning point for me to say I’m going to do this my way, and if that means I don’t get it, well.
“So when I got here as prime minister, I think I had already decided that that was the way it would operate.”
The expectation that a leader shouldn’t show too much emotion was a current stereotype, Ardern said, but despite thinking that leaders should express themselves in their own way, he admitted that he still felt the pressure to be stoic.
“I still realize that if I choke a little, I’ll try to hide it,” Ardern said.
He admitted that “I obviously didn’t do a good job last week,” referring to shedding a tear during his visit to Whakatāne’s Mataatua Marae to attend the Whaakari / White Island eruption commemoration service.
“Still, in the back of my mind, I have the idea that that’s not what people need to see from their leaders.
Ardern said that some of the significant mental health problems in various sectors of New Zealand could probably be attributed to people trying to act in a certain way based on perceived expectations.
