Jacinda Ardern could be in with a good chance to take out the Nobel Peace Prize, according to commentators.
The winner of the prize, one of the world's top accolades, will be announced at a ceremony in Oslo at 10pm on Friday (NZ Time).
Whoever wins the Peace prize will receive a specially-designed diploma, a gold medal and a massive cash prize of NZ$1.71 million.
The Prime Minister is going up against hundreds of other candidates including:
- US President Donald Trump,
- Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny,
- the Black Lives Matter movement,
- British filmmaker David Attenborough,
- the Committee to Protect Journalists,
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg,
- the World Health Organization (WHO).
But bookies have Ardern ranked in the top 3 for the Nobel Peace Prize along with climate activist Greta Thunberg and the World Health Organization (WHO).
New Zealand's PM has been widely praised for her response to the Christchurch mosque attacks in March 2019 and her leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to NZ eliminating community transmission of coronavirus twice.
Commentators believe the COVID-19 pandemic will play a big part in how the Nobel Peace Prize will be decided.
Mark Leon Goldberg, the editor of UN Dispatch and host of the Global Dispatches podcast, said he believes WHO deserves to win the prize but a Nobel expert doesn't think they will.
"I'm quite skeptical, primarily because of the criticism that has been waged against the WHO -- even though I think it's overblown," Henrik Urdal, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), told CNN.
"The jury is still out when it comes to the way the WHO has handled the pandemic."
A piece by TIME magazine also agreed WHO had made some "serious missteps" which may lose the organisation the prize.
"The WHO has been criticized for its late recommendation that the general public wears face coverings, its reliance on information from the Chinese government over whistleblowers like doctor Li Wenliang, and its sidelining of Taiwan," they wrote. "President Trump—facing criticism for his own catastrophic handling of the pandemic—has repeatedly blamed China and the WHO for COVID-19’s spread."
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is also a favourite to win the peace prize after coming close in 2019, but Urdal said she would be a polarising choice.
"I would be quite surprised (to see Thunberg win)," Urdal told CNN.
"It's important to underscore that climate is one of the most serious challenges that we're facing now. What I'm questioning is the link between climate change and armed conflict, which is very often overstated."
US President Donald Trump was also nominated for the prize but Urdal said: "Being nominated is not the same as being considered a worthy candidate".
Urdal and TIME's only concern about Ardern winning would be her lack of involvement in major global treaties.
Ardern is currently the third favourite to win the award according to Irish bookmakers Paddy Power at 5/1 odds but political betting analyst Joe Short said he thinks she could still take it out.
"The WHO may have bore the brunt of criticism about how they investigated China over the spread of COVID-19, but it has remained the most trusted global organisation in finding a cure and helping to prevent the spread of the disease," he said.
"Yet its failings over the past nine months have also been exposed. And there are calls for the WHO to be dramatically improved if the planet is to fight off another such virus in the future. And that is why PM Ardern is probably the smartest choice for the Prize right now."
He said her price has barely budged since the nominees were announced early in 2020 and she has led New Zealand well throughout the pandemic.
"Her Government has been credited with implementing an efficient crusade against the virus, using strong health messaging, wide-spread testing and effective lockdowns to combat the disease.
"As of mid-September, New Zealand had recorded just 25 deaths from COVID-19, with fewer than 1,900 cases identified across a country of 4.8m people."
He also pointed out Ardern "narrowly missed out" on the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, to Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed for his work in improving relationships with neighbouring Eritrea.
