I hate the idea of anyone thinking that I don't put a lot of

Jacinda Ardern, leader of her people and bearer of the burdens of governance, once declared: “I hate the idea of anyone thinking that I don't put a lot of thought about the cost to taxpayers. I make our ministers travel to events in vans to pool together.” At first these words may seem simple, but in them is carried the essence of stewardship, humility, and the ancient responsibility of rulers to honor those who sustain them. For in every age, those who wield power are judged not by their glory, but by how they guard the treasure of the common people.

When she speaks of the cost to taxpayers, Ardern acknowledges the sacred truth that leaders live not for themselves but by the sacrifice of the many. Every coin given by the people is not a trifle, but a fragment of labor, a drop of sweat from the brow of workers, farmers, and merchants. To waste such offerings is to dishonor the very foundation of governance. The ruler who forgets this truth becomes a tyrant; the one who remembers it walks as a servant of the people.

Thus she insists her ministers travel in vans, not in luxury or grandeur, but in simplicity and unity. This image is powerful: men and women of authority, gathered together in a single vehicle, sharing the