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Prime ministers of New Zealand, Finland chide reporter for ‘sexist’ query

'We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics, it's reality. Because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender,' said Jacinda Ardern

Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marin, left, shakes hands with New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a bilateral meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 30, 2022.
Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marin, left, shakes hands with New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a bilateral meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 30, 2022. Photo by DIEGO OPATOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

The prime ministers of New Zealand and Finland rebuked a reporter for the suggestion they had only met because they were of a “similar age.”

Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin said they had met in Auckland because they were both leaders and not because they are both women.

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The male journalist from a local radio station had asked: “A lot of people will be wondering, are you two just meeting because you are similar in age and have a lot of common stuff there?”

Marin, 37, who is on an official visit to New Zealand to boost trade ties, said: “We are meeting because we are prime ministers.”

Ardern, 42, added: “I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age.”

The former U.S. president and former prime minister of New Zealand were both 48 when they met.

Marin was the youngest prime minister in Europe when she took office, and Ardern was New Zealand’s youngest prime minister for 150 years. Both are also centre-Left -politicians.

Ardern continued: “We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics, it’s reality. Because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender.”

Ardern said the meeting with Marin, the first Finnish prime minister to visit New Zealand, was a chance to “really leverage the economic opportunities between our two countries.”

“It’s our job to further it, regardless of our gender,” she said. She said Finland offered exports in sectors such as biofuels, agricultural machinery, lifts and communications.

New Zealand’s exports to Finland were mostly in wine and beef. A free trade agreement with the EU could unlock “huge potential,” Ardern added.

Both leaders face elections next year.