New Zealand’s governor-general has officially sworn in a new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, on Wednesday during a ceremony in the country’s capital, Wellington.
Hipkins, 44 was sworn in after Jacinda Ardern was suddenly announcing she will step down from the role last week.
Hopkins after taking over made some comments. He said, “This is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life,” “I’m energised and excited by the challenges ahead.”
As for Arden, she stated reasons for her sudden decision to step down. Ardern said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after steering the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In her last public appearance as prime minister earlier on Wednesday, she walked out of parliament as hundreds of onlookers broke into a spontaneous round of applause.
However, soaring inflation, a looming recession and a resurgent conservative opposition were some of the areas that looked like short comings, regarless of her feats as her centre-left government has also increasingly struggled over the past two years,
Meanwhile, Hipkins has been identified as the architect of New Zealand’s pandemic response, and he is now tasked with reviving the government’s sagging popularity ahead of a general election in October.
The father-of-two is nicknamed “Chippy” and describes himself as a “regular, ordinary Kiwi” from a working-class background who loves sausage rolls and cycling to work.
As he resumes work, he has mentioned the areas to concentrate on. He said, “Covid-19 and the global pandemic created a health crisis. Now it’s created an economic one and that’s where my government’s focus will be.”
