Beating the virus: an examination of the crisis communication approach taken by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely tested the leadership and communication abilities of political leaders globally. Guiding an effective response to the global pandemic has required leaders to demonstrate not only effective planning and coordination skills, but the ability to communicate clear consistent messages in an empathetic manner as well. In New Zealand the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was recorded on February 28 and over the course of March and April 2020, 1,132 further cases of Covid-19 were confirmed and 19 deaths -a much lower transmission rate than most industrialized nations. On 27 April 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that they had won the battle against community transmission of Covid-19. This paper analyses the speeches and public statements (n = 40) made by Prime Minister Ardern in March and April 2020 through the lens of crisis leadership and crisis communication. In particular, it looks at the use of different mediums (parliamentary statements, daily briefings, Facebook Live broadcasts and podcasts) as mechanisms for engaging in narrative and dialogue with the public. The paper underscores the importance of communication in crisis management and looks at how positive and consistent messaging inspires confidence and social solidarity.

Identity Leadership in a Crisis: A 5R Framework for Learning from Responses to COVID‐19

“…On the ground, there is evidence that empathy was a critical ingredient of effective health policy and policing during the pandemic. For example, it was central to messaging around the virus by the New Zealand government (McGuire et al., 2020) and to the “4E” guidance provided to all UK local police forces (College of Policing, 2020; Stott & Radburn, 2020). The former focused on efforts to build trust and a sense of common purpose between authorities and the public (Carter et al., 2020).…”

Recalibrating pandemic risk leadership: Thirteen crisis ready strategies for COVID-19

“…The New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has been credited for expertly narrating a firm national COVID-19 strategy in the early stages of the pandemic in order to take advantage of a 'window of opportunity' to stop the spread of virus before it took hold. This was exemplified through such statements as 'We go hard, we go early' and that New Zealand 'would not accept any deaths ' (McGuire et al 2020;Wilson 2020). Public addresses notably outlined the overall strategy accompanied by explanations of how essential services would stay open, along with how measures such as contact tracing and testing would work once the country entered lockdown.…”

“…Speaking to one segment of the population that is typically neglected during crises, the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, notably told children 'it is ok feel scared' and to miss hugging friends. Similarly, the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was credited for holding informal video conferences on Facebook, including specifically for children, to provide them with information and reassurance, such advising that the Easter Bunny was considered a keyworker (McGuire et al 2020).…”

Public leadership in times of crisis: Lessons to learn from a crisis communication point of view

“…Well-known examples of public leaders in times of crises are Mayor Giuliani of New York after 9/11, Mayor Livingstone of London after the July 2005 London bombings, Mayor Nagin of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and President Obama after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012). More recently, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has received worldwide praise for her response to the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, and for her crisis communication approach during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (McGuire et al, 2020).…”