"All political careers end in failure ... 'that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.' ...UPDATE:
"Jacinda Ardern ... came in with great promises. Her Government would be kind, open and transparent, the housing crisis would be fixed, climate change solved in 'her generation’s nuclear-free moment,' and child poverty dealt with.
"Sadly, none of her promises came true. Some of them now seem ironic.
"I’ve never understood why people hated Ardern.... she is not a bad person, in fact a very good person who was overwhelmed by the nature of politics and human affairs.... [But] New Zealand needs a practical approach to governing, rather than a marketing approach....
"Her empathy ... made her an international superstar. While the rest of the world was working out how the most powerful country picked Donald Trump’s nasty divisiveness, Jacinda gave hope....
"The problem [however] is marketing over substance.... Having the Government build homes was never going to solve the underlying problem.... Child poverty did reduce ... but benefit dependency is up.... [And] the 'nuclear-free moment' [is] powered by Indonesian coal.... Again, the difference between sounding good and doing good.
"New Zealand is a less united place today.... If Labour had one founding value everyone should support, it was universal human rights and liberal democracy. Now the Government has spent six years telling New Zealanders that their race defines their role in public affairs ...
"All political careers end in failure, maybe. But Jacinda’s unique combination of superhuman emotional intelligence and abysmal practical problem-solving brought failure on herself."~ Brooke van Velden, from her op-ed 'Jacinda Ardern’s political ‘failure’ self-inflicted'
"[I]f catastrophes were the making of Jacinda's career as prime minister, they were also the breaking of it... Once the disaster management is accounted for, there are no major lasting achievements for which her government will be cited in the history books."~ Grant Duncan, from his op-ed 'Politics of Kindness in Unkind Times: Looking back at Jacinda Ardern's time as PM'