Chris Hipkins will replace outgoing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
The Labor Party announces it. The incumbent prime minister will resign on February 7Chris Hipkins will be New Zealand 's next prime minister in place of outgoing Jacinda Ardern .
This was announced by the Labor Party , indicating him as the only candidate to lead the formation that governs the country, which consequently becomes prime minister. Hipkins entered parliament in 2008 and became a minister for fighting Covid in 2020 . He currently leads the department of Police, Education and Public Administration.
The decision came after the outgoing prime minister announced : " I don't have enough energy to continue ," she admitted in tears just nine months before the elections that confirmed her for a second term.
“I am human. We give all we can and for as long as we can, then it's time. And for me that moment has come. I don't have enough energy for another four years,” added Ardern, who will resign on February 7.
(Unioneonline/vf)