Everyone knows that I have just accepted, with short notice, the

The words of Jacinda Ardern resound with both humility and courage: “Everyone knows that I have just accepted, with short notice, the worst job in politics.” In these words lies the ancient truth that leadership is not sought for comfort, but embraced in trial. To accept such a mantle is to walk willingly into storm and fire, not for the sake of one’s self, but for the sake of the people. The worst job is often the noblest, for it demands sacrifice without promise of reward, and endurance in the face of inevitable suffering.

Her words were spoken when she rose to the leadership of New Zealand’s Labour Party in 2017, just weeks before a national election. The party was faltering, morale was low, and defeat seemed certain. Yet Ardern did not turn away. Like the heroes of old, she stepped forward when others shrank back, and in so doing, transformed despair into hope. Thus her declaration was not one of despair, but of resolve: she knew the weight of the burden, and still she bore it.

History remembers others who accepted their calling in the darkest hour. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain in 1940, the nation was surrounded by the shadow of Nazi conquest. He too called his task the worst of inheritances, yet he declared he had nothing to offer but “blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” And yet from that worst of tasks was forged the endurance of a people and the salvation of a nation. So it is that the hardest roles often birth the greatest legacies.

What Ardern’s words teach is that the essence of leadership is not glory, but service. Politics, at its truest, is not a path of ease but of hardship. The leader is often chosen not because the road is smooth, but precisely because it is steep and perilous. To accept the worst job is to embrace the suffering of many and to stand as shield and voice when no one else will.

So let this wisdom endure: the greatest leaders are not those who inherit triumph, but those who inherit despair and choose to fight still. To future generations, Ardern’s example whispers a timeless call—when the world grows dark, do not flee the burden. Step into it. For though the task may be the worst, the courage it awakens may yet become the light of a people.