Commentary
It was only a few weeks ago on a video call with a Brownstone writer in New Zealand when I got an education about the reality on the ground. I told him that Americans had the impression that Jacinda Ardern was popular in her country, a fact which dismayed me. She, after all, became the most famous dictatress in the Western world pushing for Zero COVID, a woman adored by the media, courted by all the late-night talk show hosts, and cheered by Harvard students at a commencement address just last year.
The gentleman assured me that my impressions are very wrong. She is loathed and despised in her country. She put this great nation through nearly three years of living hell, locking down her own citizens, arresting people for being out and about, ordering people never to speak to each other, blocking travel in or out, and then mandating jabs for everyone while encouraging segregation and isolation for those who refused….