Audrey Young: What sort of former Prime Minister will Jacinda Ardern become?

Jacinda Ardern is preparing to give her final speech in Parliament on Wednesday at 5.30 pm. Photo / Mark Mitchell

When it comes to former leaders, Jacinda Ardern has no shortage of role models to help work out what sort of ex-Prime Minister she does or does not want to become.

She will become the seventh living ex-Prime Minister in New Zealand, joining Sir Bill English, Sir John Key, Helen Clark, Dame Jenny Shipley, Jim Bolger and Sir Geoffrey Palmer.

Australia also has seven: Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, John Howard and Paul Keating.

Britain has seven: Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Therese May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major.

The United States has five former presidents: Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Ardern is also unlikely to emulate Donald Trump or Boris Johnson, addicted to self-promotion and are itching to get back their old jobs, and she definitely unlikely to be charge with a criminal offence as Trump has been.

Ardern has laid low since she announced her resignation to give her successor, Chris Hipkins, clear air and she can be expected to keep out of domestic politics for the foreseeable future.

But in the longer term, it would be a disappointment if she stayed too far below the radar, not least because of her standing as a role model to women and girls globally.

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seated, with former PM Helen Clark and former PM Jenny Shipley in a portrait to mark 125 years of women's suffrage. Photo / Babiche Martens

Once she has found her comfort level about having a voice, her contribution in future years could be valuable on a range of domestic and international issues.

Of course, that is likely to be after the book and film deal.

Given her international profile, she could be invaluable to any Government of any colour in terms of advancing New Zealand’s interests on particular projects, besides her appointment as special envoy for the Christchurch Call to address violent extremism on social media.

In New Zealand today, Bolger, Clark, Key and Palmer play an active role in public debate and as time although that took some time. They all allowed several years to pass before contributing regularly to public discourse on matters of interest to them.

Key and Clark have become regular and welcome commentators on the issue of New Zealand’s relationship with the United States and China.

They provided cover to Ardern as tried to maintain a respectful relationship with China while its relations with other Five Eyes members were thinking, if not saying, that New Zealand was too low going “soft” on China.

Bolger has given the occasional interview on race relations and the Treaty of Waitangi. It’s an issue he can speak on with some credibility given his interest in the issue. One of the things he regrets is not having introduced compulsory te reo Maori in schools when he was Prime Minister.

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key in New York with former Prime Minister Helen Clark when she was head of UNDP. Photo / Audrey Young

Making te reo compulsory in schools was also on Jacinda Ardern’s wish list in her 2008 maiden speech and something she, too, may regret not having implemented as Prime Minister.

But as both found, priorities change in Government and contentious policies often need the blessing of caucus, cabinet and coalition partners.

Bolger became ambassador to the United States straight after being rolled by Jenny Shipley. Clark headed the United Nations Development Programme and then stood unsuccessfully as UN Secretary-General in 2015 with the support of the Key Government.

Clark now makes a contribution to policy development and debate through the Helen Clark Foundation think tank and is in high demand internationally as a speaker. She also headed a World Health Organisation review on the response to the pandemic.

Palmer went back to academia, then practised law and headed the Law Commission after he left office.

He also headed an inquiry for the United Nations into a protest flotilla off the coast of Gaza and he took part in an inquiry into operation Burnham by the New Zealand Defence Force in Afghanistan.

Key, English and Shipley all took up significant commercial board appointments although Shipley has been enveloped in legal controversy surrounding the collapse of Mainzeal as chair of the board.

Of all of the former Prime Ministers, the least likely Ardern is likely to emulate is Australian PM Paul Keating, who recently let rip against his own Labor Party and Australia’s British allies.

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating is leading the opposition to the Aukus nuclear-subs deal. Mick Tsikas/Pool Photo via AP

He is leading the attack against the Aukus submarine deal with the US and Britain which will allow Australia to acquire up to eight nuclear-powered submarines. Such is his standing as a former Prime Minister that his opposition is creating questions in Washington about Australia’s commitment.

He has called it “the worst international decision by an Australian Labor government” since World War One. He has described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as befuddled and says the deal compromises the sovereignty of Australia.

To add insult to insult, he called the British “gormless” and said, “their desperate search for relevance, lunging along behind [the US] is not a pretty sight.”

It has been 27 years since Keating held office and with each passing year, he appears to become more strident.

If former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange had lived longer, he may have become the wit-for-hire that Keating has become.

Malcolm Turnbull, the former Liberal Prime Minister, has become embittered about his ousting and turned against his party.

Mike Moore was similarly bitter about his ousting from Labour in 1993 and never forgave Helen Clark.

It is difficult to imagine Ardern becoming stridently involved in New Zealand politics from the sidelines, even after the dust has settled after her departure.

She was never that type of politician in office so there is no reason to think she would become one once she has left.

For now, Ardern is being honoured and farewelled for her shining role in the pantheon of Labour leaders – a pearl, if you like.

And once she has gone, the world will be her oyster.