New Zealand: Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister

New Zealand has a new prime minister: Chris Hipkins, 44, has been sworn in at a ceremony in Wellington. The former minister in charge of combating Covid-19 will now have to tackle the economic crisis, while recession threatens the small peripheral nation of more than 5 million. Chris Hepkins succeeds Jacinda Ardern who has resigned by surprise, saying she no longer has the energy to continue her term. I left office amid applause from parliamentarians.

Chris Hipkins He officially became New Zealand’s new prime minister on Wednesday, succeeding Jacinda Ardern at an inauguration ceremony in Wellington, who left Parliament to applause from hundreds of New Zealanders.

last week, Jacinda Ardern New Zealand was stunned when it suddenly announced its removal from power, less than three years after it won a second term in a landslide election victory.

Chris Hipkins has been hailed for almost two years as the minister responsible for combating Covid-19, in a country that closed its borders to stave off the pandemic and only reopened them in August 2022.

The new prime minister has already set the course: “Covid-19 and the global pandemic are causing a health crisis. Now this crisis is also economic, and that’s what my government will focus on”pointed out.

Hipkins, who studied politics and criminology at the University of Victoria and later worked in industrial training, said the cost of living was one of his priorities, but showed more precaution when asked about other potential policy changes.

While Jacinda Ardern’s resignation sparked a nationwide debate about the vilification of female leaders, particularly on social media, the former prime minister said on Tuesday she “hated” seeing her abrupt departure as a criticism of his country.

Jacinda Ardern, who will continue to sit in Parliament, has announced her intention to distance herself from political rhetorical contests.