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WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s ruling party leader Jacinda Ardern said she tried cannabis “a long time ago” when asked during a heated live debate on Wednesday (September 30) before the October 17 general election. .
Ardern, 40, is seen winning a second term in office thanks to her success in containing COVID-19, but her rival, conservative National Party leader Judith Collins, has been regaining support.
New Zealanders are also voting on two other issues, legalizing recreational cannabis and euthanasia, issues that have divided opinions in the country.
In the second election debate on Wednesday, when asked by the moderator if he had ever used cannabis, Ardern said: “Yes, I did, a long time ago.”
READ: Support for New Zealand’s Ardern falls in latest poll, but coalition still sees winning
But he said he will only reveal how he voted in the cannabis referendum after the election.
“I made the clear decision that I want the New Zealand public to decide this and I want it not to be about politics,” he said.
Collins, however, said he has never used cannabis and would vote against it.
In the broad debate, both leaders were also asked whether US President Donald Trump was a dangerous influence in the world.
Collins said Trump had recently gotten right on the peace deal between Israel and some Gulf nations.
“Actually, that’s better than war. He hasn’t been ready to go to war,” Collins said.
Ardern responded by saying, “Is it a concern when the best you can say is that we haven’t had a war?”
Ardern last month criticized Trump’s comments that New Zealand was experiencing a spike in COVID-19 as “blatantly wrong.”
READ: Commentary: How Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s most popular politician influencer
“The idea that President Trump would compare us to the outbreak in America, I totally reject and stand by my answer,” said Ardern, whose brand of liberal, inclusive and compassionate leadership has led some to label it. Trump. “
New Zealand has had 25 coronavirus-related deaths, among the lowest in the world, while deaths in the United States have exceeded 200,000.
The comments came hours after Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden fought fiercely in a moody and chaotic first debate marked by personal insults and repeated interruptions from Trump.
