Jacinda Ardern Takes Power in New Zealand in Generational Shift

  • NZ First leader Peters backs Labour, ousting National Party
  • Kiwi dollar falls on concern Labour policies may slow growth

Jacinda Ardern

Photographer: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Jacinda Ardern will become New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years after winning the backing of a minor nationalist party to form a coalition government.

After 12 days of negotiations, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters Thursday threw his support behind the 37-year-old, saying an economic slowdown was looming and that capitalism needed to regain its “human face.”