"Jacinda rules," declared a headline on the front of the New York Times opinion section. Stephen Colbert visited her at home. Meghan and Harry clamoured to work with her.
But since Ardern quit in January - citing burnout after more than five turbulent years as leader the international attention that often sought to make New Zealand a model for western liberal democracy has started to wane. What remains as the circus leaves town is perhaps a more realistic picture of a small country facing the same problems that have long confronted it but without a need to explain them in terms the rest of the world can understand.
A sign of the return to a normal level of attention for New Zealand is that the country's two major political parties are now both led by men named Chris. This month, the Labour prime minister, Chris Hipkins, and the opposition leader, the National party's Christopher Luxon, traded digs as New Zealand lawmakers used to - without provoking viral videos, as Ardern's responses to criticism often did.
"The idea of being a global superstar nation I don't think ever really sat comfortably on our shoulders," said David Cormack, a former staffer for the leftleaning Green party.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 30, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 30, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
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It's high time to tax cannabis and fix French finances
France might not be broke, but the state of its public finances is, well, definitely not good. Total debt stands at €3.2tn ($3.4tn) - 112% of GDP. Interest payments on that debt are the second largest public expenditure after education (which includes everything from crêche, or preschool, to universities) and are higher than the amount spent on defence. And this year's budget deficit is projected to be 6%, three points above the EU's 3% limit.
