Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gaynor, announced today that they are expecting a baby in June. She plans to take 6 weeks off work after the baby is born and her partner will be the stay-at-home father while still continuing with his TV fishing programmes. She quoted a well-known saying: “It takes a village to raise a child,” meaning that other people will be involved in the care of the child. She also said that she would not be the first woman who had to multi-task. There will certainly be many tasks to perform as a new mother and a prime minister.
She is aged 37. She discovered she was pregnant 10 days after becoming prime minister which must have been a shock but a pleasant shock. She says she suffered from morning sickness in the last three months, so it must have been difficult for her to keep going without telling people why she was sick. Perhaps some people guessed but for most people, the news was a big surprise.
She is not the first Prime Minister in the world to have a baby. Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan gave birth to a daughter in 1990 while she was prime minister. Of course, many male prime ministers have become fathers during their time in office.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is acting as Prime Minister during this holiday period. He will probably take on the same role in June and July.
To hear more about our Prime Minister, listen to Who is Jacinda Ardern? and Powerful women who lead the world
Vocabulary
• during their time in office – here office means in the job
• role – a job, or a part in a play
Grammar
1. had to multi-task. Must does not have a past tense. Perhaps at school you learnt to use must, but have to is more flexible.
2. must have / might have plus past participle as a conjecture (guess) about something that happened in the past.
e.g. It is not known how the accident happened, but the bad weather might have contributed.
How did she feel when she first arrived in New Zealand, speaking no English? She must have felt frightened.
They had no heating in the house during a very cold winter. They must have been miserable.