Shameless promotion of New Zealand…

New Zealand is near the bottom of the world geographically, but wins surprisingly high rankings in the world socially, economically, environmentally, culturally and politically.

Past accolades for New Zealand, with links:

• Named ‘Greatest Country on Earth’ for seventh year in a row
• Ranked Most Prosperous Country in the World (Legatum Prosperity Index)
• Ranked first place for authenticity, natural beauty and safety
• Least Corrupt Country in the World
• Best Country in the World for Preparing Students for The Future
• Best Country for Starting a New Business 4 Years in a Row
• Second Most Peaceful Country in the World
• Almost Free Healthcare
• Free or heavily subsidised Education
• Unemployment WAS 4% (until Covid-19 arrived)
• Best Rugby team in the world (It is not advised to argue that while in NZ 🙂

And I will add three more: 1) best country to raise a family, 2) best country to be in when the stuff hits the fan globally, 3) best country for achieving a “work-life balance”.

And now we get to leadership. Our Prime Minister’s political acumen is deft. PM Jacinda Adern proved it during the Christchurch shooting and now again during the Covid-19 lock-down.

Unlike most other world leaders, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has generally avoided war metaphors in uniting her country against COVID-19. She tends not to refer to the coronavirus as “the enemy” or her fellow citizens as “soldiers.” Instead, she speaks of a “team of 5 million,” the population of her nation. When asked if she was afraid of the virus, she responded, “No. Because we have a plan.”

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2020/0429/The-not-so-secret-sauce-of-New-Zealand-s-success?cmpid=shared-email

Does the entire country agree with all her policies? No. But most of NZ supports her leadership even while working through issues. Maybe that is how Democracy was supposed to work?

Attaching few popular videos below: