Is Jacinda Ardern the Antidote to the Magaverse?
Ardern reminds us politics doesn’t have to be ruthless to have impact.
Photographer: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
For a brief moment this year, Jacinda Ardern was everywhere again. The former New Zealand prime minister brought her star power to the Stephen Colbert show and The Oprah Podcast; she was honored at Sundance; celebrities posted selfies with her on Instagram.
Two years after suddenly stepping down, Ardern has been promoting a memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and a documentary, Prime Minister (just released in Australia), charting her tenure from when she became head of the Labour Party in 2017. Her return reminded us that empathy in leadership can be a strength and a burden, and that women in power are often subjected to a special kind of nastiness.