Jacinda Ardern and the empty politics of ‘kindness’
From our UK edition
Just over two years on from stepping down as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern is awaiting the imminent release of her memoir titled Jacinda Ardern, A Different Kind of Power. The launch will be supported by a 9-night US and UK book tour. The marketing around both employs the ‘kind and empathic’ messaging now firmly cemented as her international brand. Eventbrite, for example, asks us to imagine ‘what if kindness came first?’. Today, if you ask Meta AI or ChatGPT ‘what one word best describes Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style’ they will both respond with ‘empathetic.’ These words do not, however, encapsulate her brand in New Zealand – despite still being pushed by the country’s media, academics, and those inside the Wellington bubble.
