[The Fountain] A resonance from the kind leadership of Arden

The kind and competent leadership of Arden echoes within our empty politics.

PARK HYUNG-SOOThe author is an international news reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation on Jan. 19. “This has been the most fulfilling five and a half years of my life,” she said. “I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can.” To her daughter and fiancé, she said, “To Neve: Mum is looking forward to being there when you start school this year. And to Clarke — let’s finally get married.”

The sudden yet emotional resignation led to some dizzying comments from critics. Some taunted, “Look, women prioritize marriage and children over the responsibility of the prime minister” and laughed, “power exhausts women quickly.” BBC posted an article titled “Can women really have it all?” only to quickly revise it at readers’ criticism.

It is a pity to dismiss Prime Minister Ardern’s resignation as just a sign of weak femininity. She was a rare leader to prove what competency based on kindness and warmth meant. During her tenure, New Zealand, with a population of 5 million, received positive attention for being “the country that best responded to Covid-19” and “the Cabinet with the world’s best diversity.”

During the 2019 mosque shootings that left 51 people dead and 40 injured, she ran to the scene wearing a hijab and mourned with tears. Six days after the tragedy, she fought the extremism with resolute and practical measures such as a complete ban on the sales of semi-automatic rifles and reinforced a ban on hate speech.

The leadership of Prime Minister Ardern who empathized with pain and made decisions for the community was often considered the counterpoint to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

She did not include resentment against her opponent in her resignation. She frankly admitted that she exhausted the energy to work and her resignation was not related to bad public opinion, reaffirming her extraordinary leadership. Professor Van Jackson of Wellington Victoria University said that her briefing does not have any false information or blame or criticism on others, only a signal to be nicer to each other.

Korean politics is in a fog due to prosecutors’ investigation of the opposition party leader and the troubled party convention of the governing party. They are using all kinds of tricks, from encouraging splits, framing and cunning and aggressive investigation. The kind and competent leadership of Arden echoes within our empty politics.