CNN
—
William Shakespeare wrote of the executed rebel in “Macbeth” that “nothing in his life became him.” Today’s leaders, however, often struggle to accept an equal vision of exiting from dignified political life when their time comes.
Jacinda Ardern A rare leader who chooses to leave the stage rather than be pushed off it. New Zealand’s prime minister said on Thursday that she was “no longer in the tank” after five years in power and that she would not seek re-election. Kicked out by rebellious colleagues, rejected by his own party, kicked out by voters, refusing to admit he lost an election, repeatedly trying to come back to cling to power, or turning to tyranny. Unlike leaders who rely on him, Mr. Ardern’s power increases by neglecting his stay.
Jacinda Ardern chokes while announcing imminent resignation
Her self-awareness is the brand of a politician who has become a progressive global icon as Donald Trump-style ego-populism sweeps the world. Her leadership since Covid-19 Mass shootings at two mosques 2019 earned Ardern accolades far from New Zealand.
Amid rising crime, high inflation and falling house prices, Ardern’s popularity has waned and her Labor party has fallen behind in the polls. But there would have been time to launch a comeback before the general election she called for in October.
The price of power for 42-year-old Ardern was a difficult one. She faces abuse and intimidation related to her gender and relative youth. She has a young daughter and wants to marry her partner. Spending time with her family isn’t just a politician’s excuse to save face here.
For many presidents and prime ministers, the ambition and drive that have propelled them to the top means they struggle to think of voluntarily handing over power. Based on this truism, 20th-century British Member of Parliament Enoch He Powell states:
In 1987, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said she wanted to continue “in the future”. Three years later, she was ousted by her own Conservative Party insurgency, keeping her out of power for several years and increasing her responsibilities to her election.
Some leaders are at the mercy of term limits and make their own decisions. US presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan, for example, have voters demanding more after reaching their two-term cap. Other presidents, like Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Trump, who have all lost the reelection race, have suffered the pain of being told to go home. When asked, he believes he should now be halfway through his second term, and has taken for himself a peculiar category of political disgrace after coming to power. I’m trying to The one-time curse also extended to French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande (whose unpopularity towards the end of his term made his re-election dreams unfeasible).
Both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were assassinated, and Franklin Roosevelt while in office. died of natural causes. Around the world, and most recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Cote d’Ivoire Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko all died while in office.
There are also leaders who are kicked out even though they don’t want to go, or who are kicked out because of the worsening political situation. The tragic victims of the Vietnam War and his own declining popularity prompted President Lyndon Johnson to declare in a shocking 1968 announcement, “I seek the nomination of my party as your party’s president. We will not accept it,” he persuaded the Americans to tell them. his legacy.
Even some of the strongest leaders can be kicked out early by ambitious colleagues eager to take their chances. This happened in Canada early in the century. Finance Minister Paul He Martin launched a long-running campaign to retire Chancellor Jeancrétien. However, Martin’s own tenure as prime minister was short and troubled, and he did not come close to succeeding in his previous office. Exactly the same thing happened in England. Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally ousted Tony Blair after his decade at 10 Downing Street in 2007, then struggled as prime minister and lost the 2010 election. His failure paved the way for a long period of Conservative rule that continues today.
Incidentally, these Tories tend to favor political murder before voters have a chance. His three recent former prime ministers, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May, have all been effectively overthrown by their own party, but Johnson has vowed to return to number 10 after a humiliating political defeat. Trying to design, his hero Winston may wish to emulate his Churchill. .
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once again proving that a comeback is possible, appears destined for a weakening grip on power.
When leaders begin to see themselves as the embodiment of the nation, megalomania and tyranny await. Vladimir Putin has effectively dismantled Russia’s political system, wielding power for two decades and counting various terms as president and prime minister. His growing sense of isolation and his own sense of omnipotence seemingly led him to a provocative invasion that not only ravaged Ukraine but turned Russia into an international pariah. Xi Jinping has just accepted a norm-breaking third term in office, but his aura has been undermined by his mishandling of the pandemic. The world watches with concern as Xi becomes more militaristic the longer he stays in power.
Ardern escaped the humiliation of staying unwelcome and being forced out by rebellious colleagues. In his resignation speech, he said, “Politicians are human. We do everything we can and that’s the time. And for me, the time is now.”
In her farewell address in 1796, she addressed the Americans: “In our country’s present circumstances, lest you negate my determination to retire, what prejudice do I have for my service?” Like Ardern, the first American president understood that the most difficult part of democracy was not to gain power, but to know when to give it up.
