Why is Jacinda Ardern standing down? Hot mic controversy explained as Prime Minister is set to resign before upcoming election

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her resignation from the position after she earlier confirmed re-election scheduled for October this year.

The announcement came on Thursday, January 19, during the Labor party's annual caucus meeting, when she explained the reason for stepping down.

“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”

Her prime ministership will conclude on February 7, 2023. However, she will still be a Member of Parliament until the elections later this year. Jacinda Ardern said:

“I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.”

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Jacinda Ardern was caught dissing a rival politician on a hot mic

The news of her resignation, which won't be effective till February 7, 2023, comes over a month after she was caught dissing a rival politician on a hot mic.

On December 13, the 42-year-old politician unknowingly took a dig at the libertarian ACT party's lawmaker David Seymour after he provoked Ardern with questions regarding her administration's record for around seven minutes during Parliament's Question Time.

After sitting down beside her deputy Grant Robertson, she said words that sounded like, "He's such an arrogant prick."

Her remarks were barely heard on Parliament TV but were only picked up in the background by her desk microphone while House Speaker Adrian Rurawhe was speaking.

Jacinda Ardern's office said she apologized to the lawmaker for her comments.

While speaking with the Associated Press at the time, David Seymour commented on the incident.

"I'm absolutely shocked and astonished at her use of language. It's very out of character for Jacinda, and I've personally known her for 11 years."

He said that it was particularly amusing given that he had just asked the prime minister whether she had ever acknowledged and corrected a leadership misstep.

"And she couldn't give a single example of when she's admitted she's wrong and apologized."

He added that Jacinda Ardern had already apologized to him for her comments. He also added that his mother said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

As for her resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern stated that while her role as New Zealand's Prime Minister has been extremely fulfilling, she has had her challenges:

"Amongst an agenda focused on housing, child poverty, and climate change, we encountered a … domestic terror event, a major natural disaster, a global pandemic, and an economic crisis.”

In 2017, Ardern became the world's youngest female, at the age of 37, to head a government as a prime minister. Under her leadership, New Zealand has gone through the coronavirus pandemic, a terrorist attack on Christchurch's mosques, and the volcanic eruption on the White Island.