Politics

Microphone catches NZ PM calling opposition leader ‘arrogant prick’

Sydney, Australia, Dec 13 (EFE).- New Zealand’s prime minister was caught calling an opposition party leader in parliament an “arrogant prick” in a private comment in parliament on Tuesday.

Jacinda Ardern had been asked by ACT Party leader David Seymour during question time to give an example of “making a mistake, apologizing for it properly, and fixing it.”

She used the contentious managed isolation and quarantine policies during the pandemic as an example, saying it was “very difficult at the time and that there were people affected by it,” but stood by the work her government had done over the term.

After she finished her reply, she sat back down next to her deputy Grant Robertson and could be heard saying “he’s such an arrogant prick” under her breath.

The comment was broadcast on parliament television as the speaker announced the next question.

In statements to local media, Seymour said the prime minister texted him afterwards to say sorry, that it was not something she should have said, and went against her mother’s advice that ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.’

He said he thanked her for the apology and wished her a merry Christmas.

“I’ve been called much worse and it’s all good, it’s all water off a duck’s back,” he said, according to public broadcaster RNZ.

The libertarian ACT Party received more than 219,000 votes – 7.58 percent – in the 2020 election, a huge leap from to the 13,075 votes obtained in 2017.

Under Ardern’s leadership, the progressive Labour Party won the 2017 elections with a simple majority and then obtained an absolute majority in 2020. EFE

wat-grc/tw

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