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It’s fascinating to watch the enigma known as Jacinda as she rumbles across the political landscape, a bit like a traction engine; powerful, emitting lots of smoke and noise as it rolls slowly on. Polarising too.
Writing a couple of weeks ago in the Spectator Brendan O’Neill sounded slightly exasperated:
“I’m starting to wonder if the people who unfavourably compare Britain’s Covid experience with New Zealand’s are being wilfully stupid. There’s no other explanation.”
Or is there? Brendon continued:
“You see it all the time now. Praise is heaped on the sainted Jacinda Ardern for doing what Boris Johnson has failed to do: protect her people from sickness and death.”
There’s no doubt some deaths have been prevented for the time being; how many? Well, going by the Health Ministry estimates presented in their ‘final report’ submitted to cabinet on March 23rd, perhaps as few as seven, yes: 7. But according to Duke of Woy Woy, proving that sobriety is no prerequisite to contribution, in the comments section of the Sydney Herald Jaz is the saviour of more than 30,000,000:
I told you she was polarising. But, whether it’s 7 or 30 million premature deaths prevented by lockdown, another interesting take was commenter Gandhigiri’s in the Siasat Daily out of Hyderabad on the reasons for Jacinda’s success:
Gandhigiri was gushing on the occasion of the little video Ardern made a couple of days ago, a special message to New Zealand’s Islamic faith community celebrating Eid, a very special day for Muslims the world over, the end of Ramadan.
In a cosseted media environment where almost every nappy-change is news-worthy Jacinda-wise this moment seems to have escaped the entire press gallery. An opportunity lost. The vid has been posted across dozens of outlets and seen by hundreds of thousands, complete with Jacinda’s clever opening and closing in words very significant to the people of such faith:
Meanwhile BFD’s special investigative team, Larry and Moe, went a-searching for the good lady’s personal video address to this country’s Christian faith communities on their own very sacred day. Addressing those devout people in words equally symbolic and significant to that humble cohort of adherents…
Keep lookin’ fellas, I’m sure you’re goin’ to find it:
Did I say the good lady was polarising?
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