On January 18th, charismatic New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her intention to resign. The news was quickly picked up by Japan and other countries around the world.
And Chris Hipkins will succeed Ardern as the 41st Prime Minister. What kind of person is the new Prime Minister?
Prime Minister Hipkins' biography
Prime Minister Hipkins grew up in an area called Hutt Valley, north of the capital Wellington, and studied politics and criminology at Victoria University. During his time at university, he participated in student demonstrations against government policies and was once arrested. (He received an apology and compensation 10 years later, claiming that his arrest by the police was unjust.)
He was first elected to represent the Wellington area in 2008. Living in Japan, one can't help but pay attention to age, and Prime Minister Hipkins is currently 44 years old.
His favourite food is sausage roll (sausage pie), he is a dog lover, his hobby is cycling, and his special skill is gardening.
A sausage roll is a sausage wrapped in puff pastry and is a popular food in New Zealand. For his birthday last year, he was given a sausage roll cake as a gift.
A humorous troubleshooter
Under Ardern's administration, Prime Minister Hipkins served as Minister for Education, Minister for Police and Minister for Administrative Services. In 2020, he also served as the head of the Ministry of Health and Minister for COVID-19 Response, succeeding the minister who resigned due to scandal, and became widely known as a central figure in infectious disease control. For that reason, he is often called the Cabinet's troubleshooter.
He is also known for his humorous personality. In 2021, during a press conference about COVID-19, he misspoke and said "Spread your legs" instead of "Stretch your legs."
The person himself also commented,
I'm sure this will be the subject of much ridicule later.
After the press conference, many people posted photos of themselves spreading their legs with the hashtag #SpreadYourLegsNZ .
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Latest approval ratings announced
Five days after Hipkins took office, the national broadcaster published the latest opinion poll results, which showed that his Labour Party's approval rating had increased by 5 percentage points to 38%, a welcome result for the party, which had been experiencing a steady decline in popularity.
Prime Minister Hipkins' approval rating is 36%, higher than Prime Minister Ardern's approval rating last year. As this opinion poll was conducted shortly after she took office, it can be said that the result reflects the public's desire to "give Prime Minister Hipkins a chance."
However, the New Zealand National Party, one of the two major political parties in New Zealand along with the Labour Party, has increased its support rate to 37%, just 1% behind Labour, and the race is currently very close.
Will the Labour Party be able to maintain power in the general election to be held in October, or will the New Zealand National Party regain power for the first time in six years since 2017?
Prime Minister Hipkins has taken a stance of protecting people's lives by placing emphasis on high prices and economic measures as "Bread and Butter Issues" (issues related to the foundation of life). Attention is focused on his future work and the rehabilitation of the Labour Party.
This is a scene from the Prime Minister's appointment ceremony, conducted by New Zealand Governor-General Cindy Kilo on behalf of King Charles of the United Kingdom.
