Opinion

William Scholes: 'We are one, they are us' - except in Northern Ireland

William Scholes

William Scholes

William has worked at The Irish News since 2002. His areas of interest include religion and motoring.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, pictured centre, hugs and consoles a woman as she visited Kilbirnie Mosque to pay tribute to the Christchurch attack victims. Picture by TVNZ via AP
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, pictured centre, hugs and consoles a woman as she visited Kilbirnie Mosque to pay tribute to the Christchurch attack victims. Picture by TVNZ via AP New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, pictured centre, hugs and consoles a woman as she visited Kilbirnie Mosque to pay tribute to the Christchurch attack victims. Picture by TVNZ via AP

LIKE Elton John's hairline, leadership can be hard to define. But wherever it begins or ends, we instinctively recognise good - or bad - leadership when we see it.

In recent days, Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, has shown herself to be a real leader.

Her nation's idyll - peaceful, picturesque, progressive, a land at ease with its multiculturalism and Hobbits - was shattered in the most violent way last Friday when a gunman mounted attacks on two mosques in Christchurch. Fifty people were killed and dozens injured.

Ardern condemned the attack - who couldn't? - but that in itself doesn't show exceptional leadership.

What elevated her response was its empathy, which has been patently genuine and honest.

She rushed to the scene to be with the survivors and the victims' families.

As a sign of respect to the Muslim community, so viciously singled out in the horror, she wore a hijab.

Ardern spoke with force, clarity and sincerity.

"We are one, they are us," she said, articulating in a single, short phrase what the people of New Zealand themselves wanted to say.

That phrase has become a national statement of defiance against the sort of extremism and hatred that seems to have motivated the gunman - it's a rare politician who can tap into the mood of their country so instinctively.

"We represent diversity, kindness, compassion, home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it," she reminded her country as it reeled from the shock.

Her language has been flavoured with words like love, care, bravery and sympathy.

And to the man charged with the attack, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, Ardern said: "You may have chosen us - we utterly reject and condemn you."

She refuses to utter his name: "He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety - that is why you will never hear me mention his name."

The prime minister said this in the New Zealand parliament at a meeting she opened with the Arabic greeting "Al-Salaam Alaikum"; "peace be upon you".

Ardern has won acclaim and admiration for her words, gestures and the resolve of her promise to take action in the wake of last week's events.

On her agenda is reforming the country's gun laws, tackling extremism and taking on the social media companies whose platforms were used to live-stream the attacks.

Perhaps it is the case that extraordinary events and unusual times are also a catalyst that brings to the fore genuine leaders and inspirational figures; people of integrity and conviction, but who can also - as Martin Luther King said - show genuine leadership by moulding consensus rather than searching for it.

How badly we have needed to be reminded of what true leadership looks like.

Compare Ardern's words of solidarity with and welcome to 'the other' with, for example, Donald Trump's wall-building paranoia.

At the time of writing Theresa May is still leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, though it is entirely possible that by the time you read this she is neither.

Has the UK ever had a worse 'leader'? And while stubborn tenacity can be an admirable quality, navigating Brexit would have required a prime minister with a bunch of more subtle leadership traits.

May demonstrably does not have any of these, which is why Brexit, gripped by its grotesque death throes, is lurching towards calamity.

However, while they might sound like a dodgy solicitors' firm, at least May and Trump are in office.

It is more than two years since the big top collapsed on the heads of the dysfunctional circus at Stormont, and 'our' MLAs are still drawing a salary.

A striking element, at least from a Northern Ireland perspective, of Ardern's approach to the Christchurch attack is how she has sought to show solidarity, in language and gesture, with those different from herself and most New Zealanders, the Muslim community.

How our so-called leaders could learn from that example of treating 'the other' with respect.

Instead, we are assailed with dog-whistles of feeding crocodiles and 'England get out of Ireland' banners; how utterly depressing and mean-spirited.

Rather than lift horizons, they are engaged in a race to the bottom of a deepening sectarian pit.

No wonder the divisions are as stark today as they were when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998.

"We are one, they are us." Who of our crop could say that with an ounce of Ardern's integrity?