“Nothing like a trip abroad to put a spring in the PM’s step” – or so said the sub-heading on a report in the NZ Herald on Saturday of Jacinda Ardern’s visit to the United States, a visit which by most accounts was successful in its primary aim of reviving contacts with both political and business leaders.
Political editor Claire Trevett put it aptly:
“NZ was looking for new growth in its relationship with the US after the pause of the Trump era”.
New Zealanders, too, were chuffed at the success of the PM’s mission, her popularity with the Americans she met, and especially her chat with President Joe Biden. The applause she won for her address at Harvard University in itself was remarkable, and probably stimulated Trevett to note that:
“The Ardern in the US was a stark contrast to the Ardern we have seen in New Zealand in recent months”.
So, will we see Ardern back at the top of her form, now she is home again? Continue reading “NZ Herald regards NZ and China as allies – but this doesn’t gel with the PM saying our allegiances are with like-minded countries”