Jacinda Ardern, 37, finds out she is New Zealand's prime minister from TV as kingmaker says 'voters deserved to know first'

New Zealand Labour leader Jacinda Ardern speaks to the press after leader of New Zealand First party Winston Peters announced his support for her party in Wellington, New Zealand, October 19, 2017
Jacinda Ardern speaks to the press after leader of New Zealand First party Winston Peters announced his support for her party in Wellington on Thursday Credit:  REUTERS

Jacinda Ardern, the  charismatic leader of New Zealand's Labour Party and a former advisor to Tony Blair, will become the country’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years after the maverick head of a small anti-immigration party praised her “extraordinary talent” and announced his bombshell decision to back her.

Following weeks of political wrangling to form a majority coalition, Ms Ardern, 37, finally learnt that she had the support of the NZ First party while watching on television as the unpredictable “kingmaker” MP Winston Peters, who leads the small party, announced his decision.

Mr Peters, a 72-year-old eccentric populist, had effectively left the nation in limbo during weeks of negotiations following the September 23 election but admitted that he only made his decision some 15 minutes before revealing it.

Appearing jubilant after  the dramatic announcement by Mr Peters, Ms Ardern pledged to “build a fairer, better New Zealand”.

“This is an exciting day,” she said.

“We will work hard to ensure New Zealand is once again a world leader, a country we can all be proud of.”

Winston Peters, leader of the New Zealand First party, speaks to the media outside Bowen House in Wellington on October 19, 2017
Winston Peters, leader of the New Zealand First party, speaks to the media outside Bowen House in Wellington  Credit: AFP

Ms Ardern took over the party leadership - becoming its youngest-ever leader – less than two months before the election in September and admitted it was “the worst job in the world”.

But she oversaw a remarkable turnaround in Labour’s fortunes as her charismatic, relaxed demeanour captured the nation’s attention in a phenomenon that became known as “Jacindamania”.  Her sudden rise was likened to that of other youthful leaders such as Canada's Justin Trudeau and France's Emmanuel Macron.

Ms Ardern, who was raised as a Mormon but abandoned the faith due to its stance on homosexuality, earned a degree in communications before working as a policy advisor to Mr Blair and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.

During the campaign, she endured controversies over questioning by local reporters about whether she planned to have children and about what outfit she would wear for the leaders’ debate, but  her adept and unruffled handling of such questions only seemed to win her further admirers.

Outgoing New Zealand prime minister and leader of the National Party Bill English speaks at a press conference at Parliament in Wellington on October 19, 2017
Outgoing New Zealand prime minister and leader of the National Party Bill English speaks at a press conference at Parliament on Thursday Credit:  AFP

The long-awaited announcement by Mr Peters followed a series of seemingly endless negotiations after the election last month ended with no clear winner.  

Mr Peters, a social conservative and staunch nationalist, is known as a veteran kingmaker and has served in both National and Labour governments.

He opposes immigration and foreign investment and wants to renegotiate trade deals, positions which put him closer to Labour than the National party despite their differences on social issues. But it is not yet clear what Ms Ardern offered to secure his party’s support.

Announcing his decision to back Ms Ardern, Mr Peters said:  “It’s time for capitalism to regain its human face.”

“Our perception was the people of this country did want change and we've responded to that,” he said.

Ms Ardern is set to replace Bill English, the head of the ruling conservative National party, who took over as prime minister following the resignation last December of John Key, a popular leader who won three elections.

But the National party fell short of a majority at the election and won just 56 seats in the 120-member parliament. Labour won 46, NZ First won nine and  the Greens won eight.

With the expected support of the Greens and NZ First, Ms Ardern’s Labour party will be able to form a ruling majority. She has promised to address child poverty, housing affordability and decriminalise abortion.

During the frantic effort to win the support of Mr Peters, Ms Ardern appeared to be an adept negotiator and was praised for bringing ginger nut and chocolate wheaten biscuits to a recent meeting with the so-called kingmaker  – snacks which were described as suited to trying to win favour from a septuagenarian.

But her decision to offer to make Mr Peters the deputy prime minister may also have helped.

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