Dear Editor,
New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern, announced her resignation from politics after only five years. She stands tall in a world where leaders don’t relinquish power easily and sometimes not even after defeat; such graceful exit seemingly happens only in the ‘White’ developed world.
Although only 42, she wants to make way for new ideas and new leadership. The fact that the ruling Labour Party has been losing ground to the conservative National Party in opinion polls would have influenced her decision to step down. She faces defeat in elections to be held later this year. Rather than take the party down to defeat, she steps aside hoping that a new leader gives the party a better chance in the coming elections.
She has resigned giving the party ten months to turn around the floundering ship. Will any political leader in Guyana or the Caribbean follow Adern and make such a graceful exit, especially if his/her party faces defeat in an election as projected by opinion polls? A new leader provides an opportunity for improved political support and transformational change.
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram (PhD)