Something amazing has been happening in New Zealand.
At the start of August, the country's Labour opposition was facing electoral annihilation. Opinion polls had support for the party at about 24 per cent, which was so horrifying it prompted Labour leader Andrew Little to quit, just two months out from a general election.
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'Unacceptable': New Zealand Labour leader asked about baby plans
Jacinda Ardern, the new leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, has slammed a radio show host's comments that employers should know women's baby plans before hiring them. Vision courtesy Newshub.
Into this great void stepped Little's deputy Jacinda Ardern, who worked in the UK's Cabinet and Home offices before she was elected to New Zealand's Parliament in 2008 and deputy party leader earlier this year.
"Everyone knows that I have just accepted, with short notice, the worst job in politics," Ardern said in a mighty understatement on August 1.
![Illustration: John Shakespeare](http://web.archive.org./web/20170826184943im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/2/f/z/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gy23fj.png/1503705294504.jpg)
And yet, fast forward three weeks and New Zealand is gripped by the "Jacinda Effect".
Labour's standing in the polls has leapt to 37 per cent, putting the party in with a genuine chance against the conservative National Party. Ardern is already earning comparisons to Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron and Barack Obama as the opposition is flooded with support. In the 10 days after Ardern took over the leadership, Labour reportedly received almost $500,000 in donations with some 3500 volunteers coming forward.
Superficial analyses of the new leader's success may focus on the fact that she is 37, a part-time DJ, likes a whisky and is telegenic. Compared with Prime Minister Bill English – dutifully in Parliament since 1990 – she is a rock star.
But you only have to hear the new Labour leader speak to understand her appeal. When asked by The New Zealand Herald on Tuesday why she was the best candidate for the job of Prime Minister, she replied simply: "I would say the personal traits that I carry. I've talked a lot about being relentlessly positive and optimistic," she said. "I'm also incredibly determined. And I'd say that I have courage."
![New Zealand Opposition Leader Jacinda Ardern.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170826184943im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/w/z/v/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gy23fj.png/1503575996886.jpg)
Look at the way Ardern handled the surprise diplomatic incident generated by Australia's Foreign Minister last week, with Julie Bishop accusing NZ Labour of helping Bill Shorten bring down Barnaby Joyce over his Kiwi status.
While Australian MPs floundered around, trying to manufacture some outrage, the New Zealand Opposition Leader acted like she dealt with this kind of stuff all the time: calmly asking for a meeting with the high commissioner to register her "disappointment" and declaring herself free to take a call from Bishop to "clarify matters".
There's also the way Ardern responded to questions about her baby plans, the day after she was elected leader.
In a radio interview, presenter Mark Richardson said Ardern's possible future pregnancy was a "legitimate question" for New Zealanders because she could be the prime minister: "if you are the employer of a company you need to know that type of thing from the woman you are employing ... the question is, is it OK for a PM to take maternity leave while in office?"
Ardern hit back hard: "That is unacceptable in 2017. It is a woman's decision about when they choose to have children. It should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities."
It's rare these days to find a politician who can communicate clearly without relying on an endless loop of talking points. Who comes across as serious and focused on the job but also as a real person (along with the requisite constituent selfies, her Instagram feed includes cute pictures of her cat).
Jennifer Curtin is associate professor in political studies at the University of Auckland, and has spent a large part of her career studying women in politics.
"I think what we're seeing is real," she says of Ardern. "She's very impressive ... What you see is what you get."
The excitement, of course, must be tempered – Ardern is still largely untested on the big stage.
At the Labour Party's campaign launch at the weekend, Ardern listed climate change as a top priority, grabbing headlines by describing it as "my generation's nuclear-free moment". Child poverty was also singled out. But Ardern is yet to discuss policy in any great detail. And she is still to go up against English in a live debate.
There are also questions marks over the fact that she has never been in government before (though the same could be said of Macron, Rudd, Obama and Donald Trump before they were elected to the top job).
And (heavy sigh), as a woman in a leadership position, Ardern faces an extra bumpy road ahead. New Zealand may have had two previous female prime ministers, but the questions about her reproductive plans strongly suggest double standards be applied all the same. A tweet this week from a minor party leader saying Ardern needed to prove she is not "lipstick on a pig" is also indicative here.
New Zealand goes to the polls on September 23, with experts such as Curtin saying it is too soon to predict the result. Whatever the outcome, however, Ardern's recent success shows you don't need to wear a stunt burqa, stare at the sun or stir up anger and fear to re-engage and re-energise a tired electorate.
Sometimes, just standing up and talking sensibly to people works too.
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