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An emotional New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday she would not seek re-election and is resigning from office, noting—while choking back tears—that she no longer has the energy required to fill the role.
In an address at the Labour Party summer caucus retreat in the New Zealand city of Napier, she said: “I decided to give myself a chance to really reflect if I had what was needed… I’d be doing a disservice to New Zealand if I continued,” she said of her decision, which she claimed she made over the past months.
“I believe that leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have, but also one of the more challenging. You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice.”