On Leadership…
Here are some of my favourite moments from the book:
On being a good person…
“I would never be that kind of leader, and I didn’t want to try. If the only way to put runs on the board in opposition was attacking and tearing people down, then maybe I was mediocre. I didn’t want to choose between being a good politician and being what I considered a good person. So I settled into the criticism.”
On whether choosing between career and children is a decision she feels she has to make or feels she’s already made, in other words, was she going to have a baby…
“The question sounded simple enough, as if a person can choose, decline, or just postpone a child. I had chosen to have a baby, my body had declined, and now my career was telling me to postpone. Motherhood, it turned out, was determined by a bunch of factors outside my control.
I gave the best answer I could. "My position is no different to the woman who works three jobs, or who might be in a position where they are juggling lots of responsibilities." It was a total nonanswer.”
On having no time for your shit…
“It was one thing to talk about me, but he’d framed the discussion as if every woman of childbearing age were obligated to share their reproductive plans - and presumably not so a potential employer could prepare a gift basket.
When the moment came, I said, “Yes, I had talked openly in the past about wanting to be a mother. I decided to talk about it, it was my choice, so that means I am happy to keep responding to those questions.”
Then I turned to Mark Richardson and extended my index finder towards him. “But you,” I said. “It is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace; it is unacceptable.”
On winning…
“Winning wasn’t possible, not when we were seven weeks out from the election and polling at 23 per cent. But maybe I could save the furniture.
In that first week, I heard this line privately over and over: Remember, you just need to save the furniture. No one expected a miracle. But maybe, if I ran a strong campaign, I could hold on to the MPs we had, get a few more in there, and hopefully change the narrative around Labour so that future elections might tip further in our favour.”
On her hometown…
“Jacinda,” the woman said. “I just wanted to tell you that there are a lot of people in Morrinsville who are praying for you.”
I smiled. Thank you,” I said. “That is so kind.”
She took my two hands in hers, pressed them tight. “They’re not voting for you,” she clarified, “but they are praying for you.”
On falling pregnant…
“It was in the middle of this whirlwind that I ended up sitting alone in that bathroom, white stick in my hand, waiting the prescribed three minutes for a result. We were in the closing stages of negotiations.
Clarke was filming up north, far away from Wellington. My friend Julia had offered a home-cooked meal, a bath, and a bed. Then, when she heard me describe how off I'd been feeling, she offered something else: a pregnancy test.
I didn't believe it was possible that I would be pregnant. But there was something in those 180 seconds that made the implausible come closer to reality. What if? I wondered, just as I had weeks before when Andrew said I should take over the leadership. What if?
I closed my eyes and lifted my head to the ceiling. Then I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and looked down.
The stick had double lines. Positive.
Positive? I looked again. I picked up the box, looking at the instruc-tions. Then at the expiry date. Then at the stick. Still positive.
How is that possible?
I had gone through endless testing, multiple failed medical interven-tions. I'd been told that my constant work, my lifestyle, the stress of it all, would keep me from having a baby. Now here I was, in the middle of trying to become prime minister, and I was pregnant. My mind reeled.
Now?! This was happening now?”
On
