Jacinda Ardern replaced by Chris Hipkins as New Zealand PM

Chris Hipkins has been chosen to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand’s prime minister – and has been sworn in after her shock resignation last week.

Mr Hipkins, who is fondly known as “Chippy”, received the unanimous support of politicians from the Labour Party after he was the only candidate to enter the race to be its next leader. He takes on the role after Ms Ardern stepped down as Labour leader and prime minister – saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice.

Mr Hipkins will have less than nine months before contesting a tough general election, with opinion polls indicating his party is trailing its conservative opposition.

Unlike his predecessor, Mr Hipkins is not yet a household name. Here’s everything we know about New Zealand’s new prime minister.  Mr. Hipkins, 44, became well-known in New Zealand for fronting the government’s response to the pandemic, regularly appearing in daily televised news conferences. He was appointed health minister in July 2020 before becoming the COVID response minister at the end of the year, a role he kept until June 2022.

New Zealand’s strict COVID restrictions, which included closing the border and locking the country down when case numbers were low, won the government plaudits in the early days of the virus. Globally, Ms Ardern received the bulk of the praise. But her successor clearly had a key role leading in her government on the detail.

It’s worth noting that New Zealand’s strict COVID restrictions became less popular as the pandemic wore on. That partly accounts for the tough polling numbers the Labour Party is now facing in the country, with political opponents blaming the COVID rules for holding back the economy

Source: Reuters

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