COVER POLITICS

In another strike against poverty, inequality and climate change, Jacinda Ardern has appeared on some more magazine covers. Merry Xmas!

WE'RE APPROACHING 2020 and there must be a general election on the horizon because, on my rough count, Jacinda Ardern has appeared on the cover of at least two magazines this month. There she is on the cover of the December issue of the Australian Women's Weekly declaring that 'Motherhood is a joyful thing'. She was also on the cover of the December issue of the same magazine last year as well. Then Jacinda wanted the reader to know about 'Our new life with Neve'.

Moving away from all things motherhood, a more urban and urbane Ardern is also featured on the cover of Viva magazine this month. Viva is a middle class lifestyle supplement included with the NZ Herald every Wednesday. I'm not au fait with the Auckland 'scene' but I can well imagine Grey Lynn liberals delighting over this cover as they drank their over-priced cappuccinos and lattes in a up market cafe somewhere.

Ardern also appeared in Viva in December 2017. Then the magazine said that 'empathy' had characterised Ardern's rise to power. This year the theme remains the same with Ardern described as 'the indicative link between our resilience as a nation and the way we’ve managed to cope with the events that shaped 2019.' The article and interview was written by the Fashion editor, which kind of suggests that the magazine's preoccupation with Ardern is more about style than substance.

We're living in an age of celebrity and we can expect more of this kind of stuff next year. With the two main parties agreeing that 'the market' reigns supreme and  engaged in hand to hand combat for 'the middle ground', Labour will be hoping that Jacinda Ardern will be the winning difference between the two parties.

Jacinda Ardern  on December covers both in 2018 and 2019.

In 2017 Jacinda Ardern had become the leader of a Labour Party looking to clamber out of the deep hole the party had fallen into under the successive leaderships of David Cunliffe, David Shearer and Andrew Little. In stark contrast to dull Andrew Little, Ardern was a breath of fresh air and, aided by a media that didn't scrutinise her political history or beliefs too closely, she developed a rock star following. She became known as one of the new breed of young political leaders who were doing politics differently. That included French president Emmanuel Macron who's attempt to 'do politics differently' is being met with fierce resistance by a French working class that is not impressed by his attempts to impose neoliberal reforms on the French economy.

But in 2020 it won't be Jacindamania 2.0. Jacinda Ardern will have to defend the track record of her government and there will be no concealing the fact that her rhetoric has failed to translate into action. Her feel-good brand of centrism has done little to alter the political and economic status quo. Jacinda Ardern's commitment to 'transformation' has proven to be little more than tinkering around the edges. If Labour really did want to tackle issues like poverty, inequality and climate change it needed bold policies. But,time and time again, when the going has got tough Ardern has leaned into the status quo.

For the thousands of New Zealanders who are lining up at the food banks this Xmas, the fact that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appeared on yet another magazine cover will probably be a source of irritation rather than Xmas cheer.