Life’s Work: An Interview with Jacinda Ardern

A Different Kind of Power: Jacinda Ardern's political memoir is merely a warm embrace

It seems a pity that the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey nabbed the title, Why I Care, for his recent memoir, because it would have been just the thing for Jacinda Ardern’s, which is about this very subject. Instead she makes do with A Different Kind of Power — and how different hers is can be judged from the dedication, to “the criers, worriers and huggers”.

Life’s Work: An Interview with Jacinda Ardern

The daughter of a police officer, Ardern grew up interested in public service but wary about the “blood sport” of New Zealand politics. Eventually, though, she found the courage to run for Parliament, party leadership, and, finally, prime minister. From 2017 to 2023, she led her country’s response to crises including a bovine disease outbreak, a mass shooting, floods, wildfires, and Covid-19. Her new memoir is A Different Kind of Power.