New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has apologised for calling an opposition MP an “arrogant prick” in parliament earlier this week and I truly love that this is news.
In case you missed it, ACT party leader David Seymour fired a bunch of questions at Ardern in parliament on Tuesday, December 13. The questions revolved around things like immigration, inflation and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, as well as asking Ardern if she could “give an example of her making a mistake, apologising for it properly, and fixing it”.
Ardern responded before taking her seat and uttering “such an arrogant prick” quietly — but it was picked up by the hot mic. Basically, hot mic means that a microphone records a moment or convo that the speaker believes to be private. Awkward, yes. Iconic and history-making areas all ’round? Also yes.
Seymour addressed journos afterward, explaining that he and Ardern had since spoken about what went down. Ardern’s office also confirmed the apology that was sent to Seymour. As per NZ Herald, Seymour said:
“Jacinda Ardern texted me and said ‘I apologise. It’s not something I should have said’.
“She said, ‘As my mum would say, if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it’. I agree with the sentiment. It’s all good as far as I’m concerned.”
Seymour’s response?
“I just said, ‘Thank you and I hope you have a very merry Christmas’. At the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world,” he explained.
But as we can expect when it comes to politics, Seymour used the exchange as an opportunity to make one last swipe at the PM. Seymour said:
“I think she’s under a lot of pressure because her policies aren’t working. A lot of people would like an apology from her. I’m sorry that I was the only one who’s got an apology from her so far.”
Such an arr— never mind.
