- Title: Jacinda Ardern congratulates Finnish PM, confident for coming election
- Date: 11th December 2019
- Summary: WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (DECEMBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN WALKING IN AND GREETING PEOPLE BEFORE TAKING HER SEAT (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON SAYING: "You've been incredibly popular internationally..." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "I take that with a grain of salt. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON, SAYING (OFF CAMERA): "Recently, polls suggest that your popularity at home is not as high as it was before, issues critics have talked about, issues with affordable housing, issues with poverty, urban poverty, so do you think there is some work to be done here, and that these issues would come up?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "There is only work to be done here. Part of my role is to represent New Zealand in international fora to promote New Zealand's trade interest, to promote our values offshore. But my focus is here, always has been, that's why as much as there's commentary in the outside world, I take that with a grain of salt, my focus is New Zealand. In terms of where we are polling, actually on any poll you choose to look at, Labour, the party I lead, is polling higher than on election night, when we managed to form government." ARDERN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON, SAYING: "The economy globally, they're seeing a pullback in different economies, here as well, there's been a slowdown, and businesses are now talking about not having enough confidence, what are you doing in that space?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "Our growth rate's actually, relatively to others, are holding up well -- 2.4 percentile unemployment is some of the lowest we've had in a decade, our wage growth, of course, is critically important to us to make sure we continue to outstrip the cost of living, over 4 percent as well, some of the highest levels in a decade. So all of those economic measures, and our debt, is low relative to GDP, under 20 percent, so actually the foundations of our economy are strong so my message to international investors is we're a good place to invest and my message to our domestic audience business is actually, we're in a good position, now is a good time for them to grow, to employ and we'll keep investing in infrastructure and all those things that also benefit and stimulate the economy." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON, SAYING: "Just want to speak about Christchurch, it's been 9 months or so since those event had happened. We've seen around the world that several others were inspired by what was done in Christchurch and several attacks have happened, how do you feel about this? The message that went out was of peace but there are other versions of that that have been used as well, how do you feel about that?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "I think we continue as a country to feel a sense of responsibility to make sure the legacy that is left from those events can continue to be ones that were promoted by the Muslim communities themselves. The most remarkable thing for me remains the response, and New Zealanders just really mirrored that. There is wider work to be done -- one of the things we saw that we saw used as a tool by the alleged terrorist in New Zealand was the use of an online platform to broadcast a message of hateful ideology, and so we see an ongoing role for us to play, to try our very best to curb that ability for that tool to be used by anyone else. I think we've already seen it has made a difference, we tragically had events in Europe recently where an online platform was attempted to be used, that triggered a response protocol that's been developed in the aftermath of Christchurch and we saw that the reach was much, much, more limited than what we saw in Christchurch." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON SAYING: "One last question, if I may, there's a new young prime minister who's come to the scene, a female prime minister..." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "Yes I saw that!" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND BUREAU CHIEF PRAVEEN MENON SAYING: "What is your message for her?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN, SAYING: "She needs no advice. In fact, this is ultimately one of those issues where people would assume, because you're young, that you're not bringing experience and expertise to the table necessarily, she's already a minister, she's already a member of government and all I would say is 'go well'."/ ARDERN STANDING UP TO LEAVE
- Embargoed: 25th December 2019 04:08
- Keywords: Finnish PM Jacinda Ardern election interview
- Location: WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND
- City: WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND
- Country: New Zealand
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B9J593B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is facing some tough challenges as she heads into a general election campaign next year, under the shadow of slowing economic growth and a series of unprecedented disasters.
Two years since she became the world's youngest female leader, Ardern remains hugely popular overseas thanks to her perceived compassionate but tough response to the Christchurch mass shooting, appearances on high-profile U.S. chat shows, and viral videos posted online.
But the reality back home is a little different, with Ardern and her Labour Party's popularity slipping in the polls as voters worry that her government has not yet made good on promises like tackling rising levels of homelessness and urban poverty. Economic growth has slowed, as a failed government housing project, new restrictions on foreign investment in real estate, and tighter immigration rules have affected business confidence in the government. Political pundits are predicting a close contest, with scheduled referendums on legalising cannabis and euthanasia expected to be divisive.
Ardern also sent her well-wishes to new Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin after being sworn in as the world's youngest prime minister at the helm of a government led by women.
(Production: Yiming Woo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
