新西兰时间1月19日中午1点10分，新西兰总理Jacinda Ardern在新年的首次讲话中，宣布将辞去总理一职，2月7日起生效。Ardern同时确认2023年大选时间为10月14日。

工党核心小组将在3天后投票，选新一任党魁（1月22日，周日），赢得核心小组2/3票数的人选将成为新任党魁，并在2月7日后成为新西兰新的总理。工党核心小组有7天的时间做最终决定。

Ardern在讲话中表示，经过夏季假期的思考，认为自己为做总理现在已达到满负荷状态，对于未来之路上不可避免会出现的意外挑战，她表示已经心有余力不足，“除非是加满油的状态，否则你不能，也不应该做这份工作。”

Ardern在讲话中强调，自己辞职不是因为认为工党无法赢得大选，“正是因为我相信工党可以，也能够赢。为迎接今年和未来3年的挑战，我们需要一副新的肩膀。”

Ardern在发布会现场还表示没有re-election（重新竞选）的打算。

Ardern宣布辞职后，新西兰电视台报道称新西兰副总理、Ardern的"好哥们儿”Grant Robertson已表示不会参加工党党魁竞选。

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总理讲话全文如下：

“Being Prime Minister has been the greatest honour of my life and I want to thank New Zealanders for the enormous privilege of leading the country for the last five and a half years,” 

“With holding such a privileged role comes responsibility, including the responsibility to know when you’re the right person to lead, and also when you’re not.  

“I have given my absolute all to being Prime Minister but it has also taken a lot out of me. You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges that inevitably come along. 

“Having reflected over summer I know I no longer have that bit extra in the tank to do the job justice. It’s that simple. 

“I have spoken to the Governor-General this morning to let her know.

“In addition to our ambitious agenda that has sought to address long term issues like the housing crisis, child poverty and climate change, we also had to respond to a major biosecurity incursion, a domestic terror attack, a volcanic eruption and a one in one hundred year global pandemic and ensuing economic crisis. The decisions that had to be made have been constant and weighty. 

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the last five years in spite of the many challenges thrown at us. We’ve turned around child poverty statistics and made the most significant increases in welfare support and public housing stock seen in many decades.

“We’ve made it easier to access education and training while improving the pay and conditions of workers. And we’ve worked hard to make progress on issues around our national identify - I believe that teaching our history in schools and celebrating Matariki as our own indigenous national holiday will all make a difference for years to come. 

“And we’ve done that while responding to some of the biggest threats to the health and economic wellbeing of New Zealanders, arguably since World War Two.

“The Labour team are incredibly well placed to contest the next election. They are the most experienced team in the country and have shown they have the skills necessary to respond to whatever comes their way.

“I’m not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election, but because I believe Labour can and will win it. We need a fresh set of shoulders for the challenges of both this year and the next three. 

“As to my time in the job, I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader - one who knows when it’s time to go.” 

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与此同时，近日国家党已经完成核心小组重组，Ardern此前的“劲敌”，国家党前党魁Judith Colins重新回到了国家党核心领导班子中（Top10排位）。

对于Ardern突然辞职的消息，国家党党魁Christopher Luxon已经在推特上表示了震惊，并在推特中对Ardern为新西兰的付出表示了感谢，“她为了这份艰辛的工作付出了全部，对于她和她的家人我给与最美好的祝福。谢谢你Jacinda。”

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Ardern辞职的消息目前已经引发了全球主流媒体的关注。BBC、CNN、半岛电视台、路透社、澳洲各主流媒体全部在头版新闻刊出这一爆炸消息：

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