Winner Speech of the Month January 2023

Last week Jurjen Van Den Bergh and our Huib Hudig were again allowed to compile the top 3 for the Speech of the Month at the News BV on NPO Radio 1.

Actress Jennifer Coolidge takes third place. Coolidge impressed with her speech when she won a Golden Globe for best female supporting actor in the widely acclaimed tragicomedy "White Lotus.

Finishing in second place is former vice president of the United States Al Gore. During a panel session at the World Economic Forum, Gore delivered a tirade about leaders not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: "we are still failing rock hard."

First place went to Jacinda Ardern for the speech in which she announced her retirement as prime minister of New Zealand.

Huib has spent a decade in politics himself and has prepared and listened to many speeches like this. Ardern does what she needs to do. She lists the main gains of her policies and highlights her team with which she wins sympathy and builds confidence among her constituents. But what makes the speech so extraordinary is its ultimate humanity.

In fact, she says this:

Being prime minister of a country is a heavy responsibility
I'm going to quit
Because my tank is empty.

She continues:"...after going on six years of some big challenges, that I am human. Politicians are human.We give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it's time."
An unprecedentedly candid and vulnerable statement that is in line with her ironclad communications of the past few years.

For what effect does it have on a neutral observer? It makes you realize that politicians are only human too. Our eternal complaining about "the grabbers in The Hague": They are people doing their best. And how right and wise that such a person, when her tank is indeed empty, does not cling to the bitter end, but hands over that responsibility.

As a result, this speech is more than a standard goodbye. It is a story that makes you think, broadens your perspective. And that's what great speeches do.

See the entire speech back here.