She says she will depart leadership role by early February

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday that she would step down, saying she ‘no longer had enough in the tank.’ During her more than five years as leader, she steered the country through the pandemic and faced tough economic challenges. Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images

SYDNEY—New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would step down by Feb. 7 after over five years as leader, as the country grapples with the prospect of a recession stemming partly from its strict response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms. Ardern, 42 years old, has struggled to reverse her Labour Party’s slide in the polls ahead of an election due later this year, and said on Thursday that she lacked the energy to do the job. It marks a turnaround for a leader whose pandemic policies, including lengthy border closures, helped her party to a landslide win in the last election in 2020.

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