International reaction to Dame Jacinda Ardern’s renewed New Zealand republic comments

Dame Jacinda Ardern has again drawn overseas media attention after repeating her belief that New Zealand will become a republic in her lifetime.

The former Prime Minister has previously described herself as a republican, although she has maintained there was no immediate mandate or urgency to pursue the change during her time as leader.

However, Ardern returned to the topic in a recent interview with the Times while discussing her memoir, A Different Kind of Power.

“I believe New Zealand will become a republic in my lifetime,“ she said.

“It’s not top of the agenda for New Zealand because there are so many other really important things going on.

“But if you ask the question, many would say it’s something that should be in our future.”

Despite that, Ardern said any change to New Zealand’s constitutional framework would “take time”, particularly given the Crown’s role as a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi.

“It’s a complex picture because of the Crown’s relationship with indigenous New Zealanders,” she said.

Ardern is no stranger to the conversation around New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, saying in 2021 and again in 2022 that New Zealand was likely to become a republic within her lifetime.

New Zealand is one of 15 Commonwealth realms that share King Charles III as monarch and head of state, with the King represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General.

Several British outlets framed Ardern’s comments as significant, with GB News publishing a story with the headline, “Ex-New Zealand PM sounds anti-monarchy alarm after revealing details from secret chat with the late Queen”.

The Daily Mail also reported on the remarks, while Pakistan’s Geo News labelled Ardern’s pro-republic support as a “bombshell”.

Ardern’s reflections on a conversation she had with the late Queen Elizabeth II around how to balance motherhood with leadership responsibilities also drew renewed attention.

Arden told the Times that when she was pregnant, she asked the Queen: “How did you do it?”

“She said in a rather resolute way, ‘Well, you just get on with it’.

“She was right. What she was saying was there’s no big secret to it, you just take every day as it comes.

“That simple, practical advice was exactly what I needed.”

Ardern served as New Zealand’s Prime Minister from 2017 until her resignation in January 2023.

She relocated to Sydney with her young family earlier this year after spending time in the United States and UK, telling the Sydney Morning Herald its “proximity to home” was a key drawcard.

“We’d been far away for a while, and we wanted to be closer to friends and family, but also wanted to get back to a life that was, you know, a bit like what we might have in New Zealand.

“But we don’t have a set timeframe. We’ve never been much for five-year plans.”

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