During the debate, when asked if she had ever used cannabis, Ardern replied, “Yes, I did, a long time ago.” (File)
Wellington:
The leader of the ruling New Zealand party, Jacinda Ardern, said she tried cannabis “a long time ago” when asked in a lively debate on Wednesday ahead of the general election on October 17.
Ardern, 40, is widely seen winning a second term thanks to her success in containing COVID-19, but her rival, conservative National Party leader Judith Collins, has regained her support.
New Zealanders are also voting on two other issues – the legalization of recreational cannabis and euthanasia – topics that have divided opinions across the country.
In the second election debate on Wednesday, when asked by the moderator if she has ever used cannabis, Ardern replied, “Yes, I did, a long time ago.”
But she said she won’t reveal how she voted on the cannabis referendum after the election.
“I have made the clear decision that I want the New Zealand public to decide this and I want it not to be a matter of politics,” she said.
Collins, however, said she had never used cannabis and would vote against it.
In the broad debate, the two leaders were also questioned whether US President Donald Trump had a dangerous influence on the world.
Collins said Trump recently did well on the peace agreement between Israel and some Gulf countries.
“Actually, it’s better than war. He wasn’t ready to rush into war,” Collins said.
Ardern retaliated by saying, “It’s worrying when the best thing you can say is that we haven’t had a war?”
Last month, Ardern criticized Trump’s comments that New Zealand was experiencing an increase in COVID-19 as “patently false.”
“The idea that we would be compared to the epidemic in the United States by President Trump, I totally reject and stand by my response,” said Ardern, whose brand of liberal, inclusive and compassionate leadership has led some people to to qualify it. “anti-Trump”.
New Zealand has recorded 25 coronavirus-related deaths, among the lowest in the world, while deaths in the United States topped 200,000.
The comments came just hours after Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden fought fiercely in a chaotic and moody debut debate marked by personal slurs and repeated interruptions from Trump.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
