From the moment she arrives, Jacinda Ardern is surrounded by crowds: hundreds gather to take last selfies, record video messages for friends and family, or just watch them go by. A group of running children weave their way through the bystanders’ legs, pushing for a better view.
Again and again she obeys, smiling for camera phones, asking for names and jobs, cracking jokes, autographing a battered blue and yellow basketball for a boy pushing through the crowd.
A politician who has always excelled at creating moments of humor and human connection, Ardern’s much-discussed star power was on full display on Tuesday in the North Island village of Rātana on her last formal engagement as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Ardern is hugged during the Rātana celebrations. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images“It’s like ‘touch her cloak, touch her cloak like Jesus,'” laughs one woman to her friend.
“Where is she? Is she coming?” a girl asked, craning her head for a look.
“I just want to say thank you to her,” says a woman in front of the Rātana Temple to a policeman standing nearby. “For everything.”
A man spends a minute vigorously and continuously shaking her hand.
“At some point you have to let go,” remarks an onlooker, and the crowd laughs.
Ardern and Minister Kiri Allen enter the marae during the Rātana celebrations. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesNew Zealand – and the world – is still reeling from Ardern’s surprise departure, the tumultuous selection of her successor and how to define her political legacy. On her last full day as head of state, however, some of the more thorny and contentious issues of her political legacy and legislative work seemed to recede into the background.
Rātana traditionally marks the start of New Zealand’s political year, when party leaders descend on the village to make their first major speeches after the summer break. This year was different, it also marked the end of an era.
The scenes were reminiscent of the electric fandom Ardern provoked when she first took the lead in 2017 — greeted by a throng of hopeful selfie-takers and fans. Five years of difficult decisions and political struggles had washed away much of that luster, particularly in the polls, where voters had punished the PM and her party for a year of economic headwinds.
But on Tuesday the shine was back. A few yards away, incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is standing in a circle of reporters answering questions—the crowd mostly isn’t looking his way.
Maori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi enters the marae during Rātana celebrations. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, there was no sign of the small, angry group of protesters who had become a growing presence at Ardern’s public appearances – sometimes holding signs and chanting anti-vaccine slogans, sometimes chasing their van and shouting obscenities.
Ardern said threats and insults did not contribute to her resignation, but her departure has nevertheless resulted in an uncomfortable reckoning in New Zealand, with the scale and scope of misogynistic, violent rhetoric, insults and threats channeling the leader’s path. In a brief conversation with reporters, she said her ongoing experience with the job has been positive.
“I would hate if anyone saw my departure as a negative comment on New Zealand,” she said.
“I have experienced so much love, compassion, empathy and kindness at work. That was my predominant experience. So I leave feeling grateful for having performed this wonderful role for so many years…My only words are words of thanks.”
While waiting for the Prime Minister, tribal elders and politicians sheltered themselves from the bright late summer sun in plastic tents. The grass lining the roads leading to the marae (meeting point) has grown long and parched, worn to fibers by the summer heat, signaling the end of the season. At the end of her tenure, questions remain about Ardern’s continued influence on the direction and tone of New Zealand politics.
Even before she reached the borders of Rātana, the figure of Ardern appeared in the political speeches of the day. Center-right opposition leader Christopher Luxon did not specifically mention the PM, but preferred to talk about his vision of the “politics of kindness” that ushered in the economy,” he said – a choice of frame that only seemed to illustrate , the extent to which Ardern had defined the language and frame of reference of New Zealand political conversation.
Ardern and new Labor leader and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins arrive for the celebrations in Rātana. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesMost leaders paid their tribute more openly. “You were the captain in charge of the Waka [canoe] that got us through really tough times,” said Rahui Papa, a leader of the Tainui and Māori royalty movements.
“You were the right person to lead our nation through terrible times,” said Che Wilson, former Māori Party president. “I’m carrying my political allegiance here,” he said, pointing to the indigenous patterns that adorn his clothing, “but Prime Minister, it’s only right that we say thank you,” he said as the crowd broke out in applause.
When asked if she had a parting word for the public, the prime minister said she would not go away entirely. “You will see me on the road, but you will not see me at the center, in the cut and push of politics,” she said. As for missing that, Ardern simply replied, “I’m going to miss people. Because that was the joy of the work.”
The celebrations at Rātana are a fitting final bookend for Ardern’s tenure. In 2018 – just two months into her tenure as Prime Minister and days after announcing her pregnancy with daughter Neve – she appeared on Rātana. That year the elders of Rātana offered her a Māori middle name for their child: Waru, a sacred number for the Church. In the years that followed, the gathering has marked milestones and moments in Ardern’s tenure as leader – and seen how her family has grown up, with Neve occasionally popping up to pad through crowds, pursued by security guards.
In a final brief standup for reporters, Ardern said she’s spending more time in this role — as a mother and family member — which she’s looking forward to.
“I’m ready to be many things,” she said. “I’m ready to be a backbencher. I’m ready to be a sister and a mother.” She then turned, put her sunglasses back on, and walked away from the last group of microphones she would face as Prime Minister.