Jacinda Ardern caught on camera name-calling rival

Jacinda Ardern’s political philosophy is simple. When the New Zealand PM was asked to explain the qualities that led to her success, she said she valued:

‘Kindness, and not being afraid to be kind, or to focus on, or be really driven by empathy’.

But does Ardern practise what she preaches? Not so if a clash between her and a fellow party leader in the New Zealand parliament is anything to go on. Ardern was caught calling rival politician David Seymour an ‘arrogant p***k’ during a fiery debate last night.

Seymour’s crime was to ask Ardern:

‘Can the prime minister give an example of her making a mistake, apologising for it properly and fixing it?’

After defending her record, Ardern sat down and muttered the rude word under her breath. Unfortunately for Ardern, her microphone was on. But the good news is that there’s a happy ending to this story: Ardern sent Seymour a message to apologise, in which she said: ‘As my mum would say, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.