Jacinda Ardern: 'I slept well for the first time in a long time'

WELLINGTON Prime Minister New Zealand Jacinda Ardern said her decision to step down was "tinged with sadness" but she had "slept well for the first time in a long time", a day after she announced her resignation.

Ms Ardern, a global figurehead for progressive politics, stunned the country on Thursday by announcing her abrupt exit from office, less than three years after securing a second term in a landslide election win.

The 42-year-old who steered New Zealand through natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and its worst-ever terror attack said she had "no more in the tank".

"Even though I am, of course, tinged with sadness, I don't doubt the decision," Ms Ardern said on Friday, adding that she felt "a sense of relief".

She was speaking to Newshub at the airport after arriving back in Auckland following a Labour Party caucus retreat.

In the wake of Ms Ardern's emotional resignation, some women in New Zealand drew attention to the torrent of abuse she faced during her six years as Prime Minister. "Jacinda has faced a level of hatred and vitriol which in my experience is unprecedented in our country," former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark said on Thursday.

Political commentators have lined up to condemn the social media abuse that was increasingly directed at Ms Ardern before her resignation.