A month and a half after handing over the country to deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern is back in the driver’s seat.
She spoke to Radio New Zealand yesterday, expressing how lucky she feels about her position as both a Mum and the Prime Minister.
“I’m privileged, I’m very very lucky,” Ms Ardern told RNZ.
“I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who’s taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility because he’s a parent too, he’s not a babysitter.
“I also have the ability to have [Neve] with me [at work] so that means that I’m privileged and I’m lucky, a lot of women don’t have that choice.”
Over the six-week period, Jacinda may have stepped back but she didn’t give up her responsibility.
“I certainly did have a little bubble here for a time and I had every faith that the acting Prime Minister would do a brilliant job, and he has.”
The Prime Minister then spoke about her responsibility as a mother.
“At a personal level it’s just the day to day, I’m a mum that needs to meet all of the responsibilities that come with being a mum, making sure that Neve has the basics, that she’s fed, that she’s loved, that she sleeps as much as we’re able to get her to sleep and we will do that together, that’s a practical reality of my new role.”
Ms Ardern said so far parenthood has been fantastic.
The couple begins their next chapter on Saturday when they will fly to Wellington to set up camp in the Prime Minister’s residence near the beehive.
Jacinda spoke honestly about her role as both Mum and PM, saying, “I might be at the odd press conference with a little bit of spill on me because I’m not going to hide the imperfections of parenting, I don’t think anyone needs that.”
Want to know more about Jacinda and her family? We spoke to Jacinda’s Mum, Laurell Ardern, in the September issue of Mindfood. Pick up a copy today to read the exclusive interview.
