Sunday 18 October 2020

Jacinda Arden is the real "Leader" of the Free World

 I have often thought  even before  Donald Trump  that the  title of "Leader of the Free World " should not be applied to the President of the USA.

Few have actually applied leadership in the manner I would agree it shouldbe  and the current holder is clearly unfit for office.

I doubt that Joe Biden even if as I hope defeats Trump will provide  it and even as some yearn for the days of Barrack Obama who was awarded the Noble Peace Prize for what he might do rather that what he did .

  The president escalated, not ending the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan

President Obama is still peddled  lies about Iran building nuclear weapons.


Under him  the Americas, the US Still Blockaded Cuba, Threatened Venezuela, & Funded the Longest and Bloodiest War in South America since the Genocide of Native Americans in Colombia.


Indeed if Leader of the Free World should be applied then it should go to  the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden  who has just won a landslide election under a system designed to prevent it.

On 15 March 2019, 51 people were fatally shot and 49 injured in two mosques in Christchurch. In a statement broadcast on television, Ardern offered condolences and stated that the shootings had been carried out by suspects with "extremist views" that have no place in New Zealand, or anywhere else in the world.] She also described it as a well-planned terrorist attack.

Announcing a period of national mourning, Ardern was the first signatory of a national condolence book that she opened in the capital, Wellington She also travelled to Christchurch to meet first responders and families of the victims. Ardern received international praise for her response to the shootings, and a photograph of her hugging a member of the Christchurch Muslim community with the word "peace" in English and Arabic was projected onto the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.[138] A 25-metre mural of this photograph was unveiled in May 2019.

In response to the shootings, Ardern announced her government's intention to introduce stronger firearms regulations.[She said that the attack had exposed a range of weaknesses in New Zealand's gun law.[ On 10 April 2019, less than one month after the attack, the New Zealand Parliament passed a law that bans most semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles, parts that convert guns into semiautomatic guns, and higher capacity magazines.[


Ardern visited members of the Muslim community at the Phillipstown Community Centre, 16 March 2019. Captured through a glass window, this photograph was widely shared at the time and described by The Guardian as "an image of hope".



On 14 March 2020, Ardern announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand that the government would be requiring anyone entering the country from midnight 15 March to isolate themselves for 14 days.[146] She said the new rules will mean New Zealand has the "widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world". On 19 March, Ardern stated that New Zealand's borders would be closed to all non-citizens and non-permanent residents, after 11:59 pm on 20 March (NZDT). Ardern announced that New Zealand would move to alert level 4, including a nationwide lockdown, at 11:59 pm on 25 March.

National and international media covered the government response led by Ardern, praising her leadership and swift response to the outbreak in New Zealand.] The Washington Post's Fifield described her regular use of interviews, press conferences and social media as a "masterclass in crisis communication."[] Alastair Campbell, a journalist and adviser in Tony Blair's British government, commended Ardern for addressing both the human and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

That is leadership if we are going to apply the title of "Leader of the Free World "  I don't see why it should not be given to someone who actually provides it , even the leader of New Zealand a tiny island but which has a big heart.

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