Editorial Content for A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir

Dame Jacinda Ardern’s foray into politics began with three little words: “I’ll do it.”

Eighteen-year-old Ardern had just said yes to a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) who “seemed to think [she] could be useful” in a campaign for New Zealand’s Labour Party. Her yes, she reflected, meant that she could help change things that she thought “didn’t feel right.”

In A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER, Ardern explores her rise to becoming the 40th Prime Minister (PM) of New Zealand at 37 --- the youngest female head of government in the world.

It started with a humble upbringing in a small poverty-stricken town where Ardern’s father was the sheriff. As a child, she gained her distinctive facial scar while trying to be useful at her grandparents’ orchard. She learned from the experience of attempting to run farming machinery that the drive to fix and be helpful can sometimes lead to trouble. Watching her father police with empathy and compassion was formative for her. She learned from him to respect all and to recognize that there is always more than what we see on the surface. She often attributes her start in politics to the environs she grew up in and witnessing the imbalance of economics.

"In a world today that is facing so much unrest and upheaval, this book is a reminder that at core there is goodness, and there are redeeming factors to be sought out, applauded and upheld."

Born into a Mormon family, and active in the church as a youth, Ardern’s faith in these values faded as she immersed herself more in a political world that she saw as having the ability to bring about systemic change, and therefore positive change, for people throughout New Zealand. She ultimately left the church that undermined her personal beliefs.

Ardern’s first job at 18 led to the career we all know about: a spot working with Tony Blair’s cabinet in England, then a run as an MP, and her rise to PM. When she entered the latter role, she was pregnant --- impending motherhood became a badge of honor for Ardern. Every day was a testament to the importance of “showing up” as a politician and a capable woman. The news of her pregnancy was met with great favor, but she knew there were naysayers who would use this against her --- and against womankind, in fact.

Six months into her administration, Ardern delivered on promises made during her campaign --- a family tax credit, winter energy payments and a boost to the minimum wage. She “laid the groundwork for a zero carbon act and an independent climate commission and begun the process of switching to renewable energy.” And shortly after that, she delivered her daughter, Neve.

Ardern’s time in office was marked by several key moments, not the least of which was the Christchurch mosque shooting that resulted in the deaths of 51 people and dozens injured. Her compassion in the face of such an atrocity cemented her leadership style --- one that humanized politics and inserted kindness where and when it was needed most.

However, the COVID pandemic may have been Ardern's undoing. At first embraced by the country, her lockdown orders and border closures were met with trust, but that eventually eroded with the addition of more restrictions. Faced with ire from constituents on many occasions, she reminded herself “That all those hard, imperfect decisions saved twenty thousand lives. And that the person in front of [her] might just be one of them.”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER ends with Ardern’s resignation and the line “A new era was about to begin,” as if she read the global room. In a world today that is facing so much unrest and upheaval, this book is a reminder that at core there is goodness, and there are redeeming factors to be sought out, applauded and upheld. She offers hope that there are those who serve through kindness and a genuine desire to do good and improve life for all.