Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, at her home in Auckland. Credit Mark Coote for The New York Times.

She wants to show that women can lead with different styles, not cast themselves in the egotistical, brash mold of many male politicians. “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak,” she said. “I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.”

“I’ve been given so many [nicknames], it’d be quite hard to come up with a new one,” she said, laughing. “Back in the early days of my political career, I was called Socialist Cindy. I just hate the nickname Cindy.”
(Quoted by Maureen Dowd, “Lady of the Rings: Jacinda Rules,” NYTimes, 9-8-18)

[Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]