Baby due in June.
Photo: AFP
New Zealand’s newly minted Prime Minister and bizarrely cool and normal lady Jacinda Ardern has announced that she and partner Clarke Gayford are expecting a BABY.
The news came this morning via Instagram where Jacinda wrote "and we thought 2017 was a big year! Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three, and that we’ll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats".
"I’ll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay at home dad.
"I think it's fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn’t be more excited. I know there will be lots of questions, and we’ll answer all of them (I can assure you we have a plan all ready to go!) But for now, bring on 2018."
Of course, you might recall that during the 2017 election the question of Jacinda’s babyless status was brought up almost the moment she took over as Labour leader by a number of very chill not at all messed up media commentators. The AM Show’s Mark Richardson even took it upon himself to investigate exactly what the plan was with Arden’s uterus in the event she came into power, and to ask the burning question, “is it OK for a PM to take maternity leave while in office?"
WELL MARK I GUESS IT IS.
But how I am now imagining him saying in a small voice.
The plan, according to a statement from Ardern, is that deputy prime minister Winston Peters will take on the role of Acting Prime Minister for six weeks after the baby is born.
"Mr Peters and I have a great relationship, and I know that together we'll make this period work. I will make arrangements for appropriate Ministers to act in my other portfolios over the six weeks I am away from Parliament.
"At the end of my leave I will resume all Prime Ministerial duties."
Easy!
So what now?
With a June due date (omg Gemini) set there will be plenty of time for our news media to react with all the calm and tact for which they are generally known, and for Jacinda to show that, contrary to popular opinion, women can do important job things like running the country at the same time as they do important personal things like growing (and raising) a baby.
Who would have thought?
