New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is currently hosting the Finnish Prime Minister Sanni Marin for a meeting focused on trade and technology. It’s the first time a sitting Finnish prime minister has visited New Zealand, and part of Marin’s outreach to other nations in the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Surely the New Zealand press treated this meeting with all the gravitas it deserved, right?
But a reporter zoomed in on what he seemed to think was the most important thing Ardern, 42, and Marin, 37, have in common. “A lot of people will be wondering: ‘Are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and have got a lot of common stuff there — when you got into politics and stuff — or can Kiwis actually expect to see more deals between our two countries down the line?” the reporter from New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB asked.
Arden was having none of it:
Ardern, looking slightly incredulous, replied: “I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age,” referring to New Zealand’s former prime minister who was born five days after the former U.S. president.
You can watch it here:
Watch NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pick apart this reporter's question during a joint press conference with Finnish PM Sanna Marin. He asked the pair 'are you two meeting because you're similar in age and got a lot of common stuff there?'
Read more: https://t.co/eTtJEqJoFZ pic.twitter.com/UBEZs1kzvF— SBS News (@SBSNews) November 30, 2022
He barely held back from asking if they were going to go shoe shopping later.
You will not be surprised to learn that the reporter, Joey Dwyer, has since deleted his Twitter account. You hate to see it.
Aretha can have the last word:
