The international media\u2019s adulation of the New Zealand prime minister has complicated her challenges at home<\/p>\n
Jacinda Ardern<\/a> rarely repeats her mistakes. When she rose to power in 2017 New Zealand\u2019s newly elected prime minister became a subject of fascination for progressives around the world; they regarded her as a kind of avatar of anti-Trumpism; a symbol of resistance to rightwing populism. This fascination intensified when she announced her pregnancy in early 2018. It grew again in the wake of the 15 March terror attack in 2019. She was praised as a beacon of hope; her image projected on to the side of the Burj Khalifa. The flattering media profiles multiplied.<\/p>\n Initially, Ardern leaned into this. New Zealand is small and remote \u2013 publishers of international maps forget we\u2019re down here<\/a>. So we\u2019re often flattered when distance looks our way. Someone noticed we exist! Ardern\u2019s international coverage was picked up by local media, delivering coverage the prime minister\u2019s competitors couldn\u2019t possibly match. Her global news presence was a deliberate strategy and a powerful weapon.<\/p>\n