Jacinda Arden was the golden girl through the midst of the pandemic. Initially, she received global praise for her quick thinking and action against the pandemic. However, she is now receiving unfair criticism for her response to getting the country vaccinated. The work of an incredible woman is beginning to turn into a free for all for anyone who can find a way to rewrite her legacy.
No one can diminish the work Arden did for New Zealand at the start of the pandemic. The prime minister saved an entire country from the danger that most of the world faced. While we were all locked in our homes, New Zealand was living life like normal. But with the change in strategy from lockdowns to vaccinations, New Zealand weren’t first off the mark. But in many ways, they didn’t need to be.
Jacinda Arden had done such an outstanding job in protecting New Zealand, vaccinations didn’t need to be a main priority for the country. Critics who tried to pursue a negative image of Arden’s work through COVID-19 failed to think through the “slow” vaccine rollout, was only an issue to countries who let the virus get out of control. As the countries who let the virus get out of control, won’t have been able to see or plan for a normal life without the aid of the vaccine.
While most of the backlash for the speed of the vaccination rollouts seemed to be under fire back in august, looking two months later at what Arden has done is somewhat remarkable. From the 27th of October it was recorded 72% of New Zealand had been fully vaccinated. Comparing that to the UK where on the 26th of October 79.3% of the population have been fully vaccinated. There is no denying that the UK have dealt with a denser population, hence why the UK isn’t further ahead. But it also can’t be denied that Arden acted quickly after facing her backlash and is tackling the situation proactively.
Being a woman in politics means you will face a great amount of scrutiny. There is no room for error. In the 21st century politics is still considered to be dominated by men. But Jacinda Arden upstaged the men in politics with her handling of the pandemic. To which it will come as no surprise that it upset a few fairly ‘traditional’- shall we say- men in politics. Rather than admiring the work she has done, Arden was belittled for her later push on the vaccinations, due to returning to her original strategy of locking down. Farage stated Arden had “lost her marbles”. Not only did the patronising comment come as no surprise, but neither does the chance for any man to try and criticise a woman in politics.
It is as if rather than acknowledging Arden’s work and continuous handle of the virus, the pessimist in society wants to say ‘you could have done better’ to an outstanding accomplishment. Arden had her own strategy for the pandemic, and it worked. It was even praised. Until it was clearly praised too much. Then the inevitably scrutiny was applied, whether it was because she wasn’t following what the rest of the world did or she was just a woman in politics.
Overall, Jacinda was praised so highly for a reason. It is obvious that her legacy of her leadership will be followed by her handling of the pandemic. So, it is wrong for people to look for any fault and alter the legacy she deserves. Jacinda Arden handled the pandemic rapidly and firmly, she was “slow” for rolling out vaccinations in comparison to other countries but listened to the backlash and got the country back on track, guiding New Zealand safely through the pandemic. That is what should be taken away from Jacinda Arden’s handling of COVID-19.
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