Who are in the race to succeed Jacinda

Chris Hipkins, Kyrie Allan, Michael Wood and Nanaia Mahuta
The ruling Labor Party is looking for new leadership after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her sudden resignation on Thursday. Jacinda will leave the post of Prime Minister by February 7. Before that, his party will elect Jacinda’s successor. The election of the next leader of the Labor Party will be held on Sunday.

Announcing her resignation today, Ardern said she no longer has the strength to continue leading the country. That’s why he will step down at the beginning of February. He will not be re-elected as Prime Minister.

The next general election will be held in New Zealand on October 14. Jacinda will remain a member of parliament until the election, even if she leaves the post of prime minister. Jacinda expressed hope that the Labor Party will win again in the next general election. In this situation, the discussion has started on who will take the lead of the Labor Party.

The first to be named as Jacinda’s successor is Chris Hipkins. In 2008, he was elected as the first Member of Parliament from the Labor Party. He was appointed as a minister in November 2020. The steps taken by him to deal with Corona are highly appreciated. Due to his actions, the country did not detect corona in the country until the first half of 2021.

But Chris Hipkins has been criticized for strict restrictions to prevent a delta-type wave of coronavirus. He later admitted that restrictions such as quarantine should have been lifted earlier. He took over as the country’s police minister in the middle of last year, showing his ability in the face of criticism. Apart from this, he has also handled the responsibilities as Minister of Education, Public Service. Served as party leader in Parliament. Before coming to parliament as a lawmaker, Chris, 44, also worked as an adviser to the education minister and in former prime minister Helen Clark’s office.

If elected, New Zealand Justice Minister Kerry Allan (39) could also succeed Jacinda Ardern. He previously handled the country’s disaster management ministry. Before joining the country’s parliament as a legislator in 2017, he served as a manager in an agricultural sector company. Besides, he is known as a lawyer.

Michael Wood, 42, has risen rapidly as a politician since joining the Labor Party in 2016. He became the country’s Minister of Communications and Workplace Safety after his party’s historic electoral victory in the 2020 elections. In a cabinet reshuffle in the middle of last year, he was given the job of immigration minister. He served on the Auckland City Council before becoming a Member of Parliament.

After New Zealand’s Labor Party won the 2020 election, veteran politician Nanaia Mahuta was appointed as the country’s first female foreign minister. The 52-year-old veteran leader has been serving as a member of parliament for 26 years. He has great influence in local politics.