New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern had been dogged by rumours she was about to quit, ... trends now
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repeatedly denied she would quit before the next general election despite consistent rumours she was on her way out.
The Kiwi Labour leader stunned the world on Thursday by announcing she will quit on February 7 at the latest after five years in charge.
But the rumour mill began in earnest back in October when government circles exploded with gossip Ardern, 42, was set to step down.
She angrily hit back at the speculation at the time, and categorically insisted she would stay and fight the October 2023 election despite plummeting polls.
'I've heard this,' the Kiwi PM said in a radio interview at the end of last October. 'This rumour has floated around my entire time five years in Government.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repeatedly denied she would quit before the next general election despite consistent rumours she was on her way out
'I have no plans to change my role as leader, I am not going anywhere. I've said this on the show a number of times.
'Rumours circulate and it's just part of the role but this is not the first time I've had this one and it did come up the last election as well.
'I am the Labour leader and I have no plans on changing that.'
She also dismissed speculation she and her partner Clarke Gayford were set to quit the rat race for a new quiet life in rural New Plymouth on North Island's west coast.
She added: 'While I am here might I also dismiss the rumour that I am relocating to New Plymouth, as lovely as it is, I am not intending to move either.'
The leader has enjoyed greater popularity overseas than at home in the face of harsh Covid lockdowns during the pandemic and soaring inflation and cost of living.
But the PM said she faced similar rumours ahead of the 2017 election when a whisper campaign claimed she was too sick to be Prime Minister.
'I think that's reflecting a time when I had an unfortunate complication with tonsillitis - something called quinsy,' she added.
'That was the basis on which that started. New Zealand, in different forms, gets plagued by gossip and hearsay, and I am happy to bat back on things like that.
'But ultimately what I hope is people will see me for who I am.
