New Zealand’s incoming prime minister, Chris Hipkins, steered the country through the Covid pandemic. An experienced career politician with a “fixer” reputation, he has a new storm to navigate: reversing Labour’s months-long polling slide and recapturing voters in the wake of Jacinda Ardern’s shock departure.
Hipkins, 44, was the minister primarily charged with designing and implementing New Zealand’s Covid response. It made him a household name for many New Zealanders – he was a regular fixture at daily press conferences alongside Ardern.
