Education Minister Chris Hipkins is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister after he was the only candidate to enter the competition on Saturday to replace Jacinda Ardern.
Hipkins, 44, must still garner an endorsement Sunday from his Labor Party colleagues, but that is just a formality now.
“It's a big day for a boy from the Hutt,” Hipkins said, referring to the Hutt Valley near Wellington where he grew up.
“I'm really humbled and really proud to be taking this on. It is the biggest responsibility and the biggest privilege of my life.”
On Thursday, Ardern shocked the nation of 5 million people when she announced she was resigning after five-and-a-half years in the top role.
The lack of other candidates indicated that party lawmakers had rallied behind Hipkins to avoid a protracted contest and any sign of division after Ardern's departure.
Hipkins will have just over eight months in the role before running in the general election. Opinion polls have indicated that the Labor Party is lagging behind its main opponent, the Conservative National Party.
Hipkins rose to public prominence during the coronavirus pandemic when he took on a sort of crisis management role. However, he and other liberals have long shadowed Ardern, who has become a global icon of the left and embodied a new style of leadership.
Fighting back tears, Ardern told reporters on Thursday that she would leave the post no later than February 7.
“I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple,” she said.
New Zealand's unemployment rate is relatively low at 3.3%, but inflation is high at 7.2%. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.25% as it tries to control inflation, and some economists expect the country to enter a recession this year.
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