Jacinda Ardern

And so he was someone who modeled, role modeled, I think, to me, as did my mother, the importance of communication, the importance of empathy, the importance of kindness, even in such a difficult job like policing. And so I think that was probably some of the earliest examples for me of how there can be a strength and a power to kindness and empathy, which we often forget in leadership.

Before, before, I might not have always articulated it as kindness. You know, at first, I think when I went into politics, The cut and thrust was always the bit that I struggled with. We have a Westminster system in New Zealand, so it can be quite aggressive. It can be a bit of a bear pit. And I remember feeling that actually as a thin-skinned, sensitive person, it was a hard place to be.

Before, before, I might not have always articulated it as kindness. You know, at first, I think when I went into politics, The cut and thrust was always the bit that I struggled with. We have a Westminster system in New Zealand, so it can be quite aggressive. It can be a bit of a bear pit. And I remember feeling that actually as a thin-skinned, sensitive person, it was a hard place to be.

Before, before, I might not have always articulated it as kindness. You know, at first, I think when I went into politics, The cut and thrust was always the bit that I struggled with. We have a Westminster system in New Zealand, so it can be quite aggressive. It can be a bit of a bear pit. And I remember feeling that actually as a thin-skinned, sensitive person, it was a hard place to be.

And so originally I thought, well, to survive here, I have to toughen up. But there was a politician who rightly pointed out to me that actually being sensitive is a form of empathy and that actually can be a kind of power. A different kind of power. A different kind of power. A strength, not a weakness. Yes. And so I made a decision that, okay, then that was something I was going to hang on to.

And so originally I thought, well, to survive here, I have to toughen up. But there was a politician who rightly pointed out to me that actually being sensitive is a form of empathy and that actually can be a kind of power. A different kind of power. A different kind of power. A strength, not a weakness. Yes. And so I made a decision that, okay, then that was something I was going to hang on to.

And so originally I thought, well, to survive here, I have to toughen up. But there was a politician who rightly pointed out to me that actually being sensitive is a form of empathy and that actually can be a kind of power. A different kind of power. A different kind of power. A strength, not a weakness. Yes. And so I made a decision that, okay, then that was something I was going to hang on to.

And it might not make me a successful politician because if our markers of success in politics or in leadership are, you know, to be overly confident or to bring ego or to be brash, then maybe I wouldn't succeed. But that's okay.

And it might not make me a successful politician because if our markers of success in politics or in leadership are, you know, to be overly confident or to bring ego or to be brash, then maybe I wouldn't succeed. But that's okay.

And it might not make me a successful politician because if our markers of success in politics or in leadership are, you know, to be overly confident or to bring ego or to be brash, then maybe I wouldn't succeed. But that's okay.

Wouldn't you say? Well, certainly that seems to be, I think, the assumption we have. And yet I think people would also agree that politics is a hard place to be. It is a hard place to be.

Wouldn't you say? Well, certainly that seems to be, I think, the assumption we have. And yet I think people would also agree that politics is a hard place to be. It is a hard place to be.

Wouldn't you say? Well, certainly that seems to be, I think, the assumption we have. And yet I think people would also agree that politics is a hard place to be. It is a hard place to be.

And so for the most part, my experience, at least in New Zealand, was that for the most part, even when you're on different sides of the house, for the most part, people are usually motivated to improve the place they live in, to improve... the lives of the people around them. They often just have very different ideas of what that looks like. How they're going to go about doing it.

And so for the most part, my experience, at least in New Zealand, was that for the most part, even when you're on different sides of the house, for the most part, people are usually motivated to improve the place they live in, to improve... the lives of the people around them. They often just have very different ideas of what that looks like. How they're going to go about doing it.

And so for the most part, my experience, at least in New Zealand, was that for the most part, even when you're on different sides of the house, for the most part, people are usually motivated to improve the place they live in, to improve... the lives of the people around them. They often just have very different ideas of what that looks like. How they're going to go about doing it.

And the thing that I think increasingly turns people off politics is the way that it's seen in the public domain is that people don't have their eyes on improving people's lives. They're in the politics. That's right. But my experience is that often people sacrifice a lot to be there and most of the time, most of the time, it's for the right reasons.

And the thing that I think increasingly turns people off politics is the way that it's seen in the public domain is that people don't have their eyes on improving people's lives. They're in the politics. That's right. But my experience is that often people sacrifice a lot to be there and most of the time, most of the time, it's for the right reasons.

And the thing that I think increasingly turns people off politics is the way that it's seen in the public domain is that people don't have their eyes on improving people's lives. They're in the politics. That's right. But my experience is that often people sacrifice a lot to be there and most of the time, most of the time, it's for the right reasons.

Well, it was an extraordinary moment in a string of extraordinary moments. So we'd been in opposition for nine years, so we had not been in government for a long time. And so it's pretty soul-destroying to be in that situation. Your party.