Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's pregnancy announcement is "fantastic", says National Party leader Bill English.
The father of six told TVNZ1's Breakfast today he hoped Ms Ardern "doesn't put too much pressure on herself and the rest of us don't".
Mr English said later in the pregnancy and when the child is born Ms Ardern should be able "to turn up to work tired and people accept that".
He said there should not be an expectation of "perfection from what is going to be a pretty pressurised situation".
The PM said her late-grandmother could've been one of the people questioning her decision to be a mother and leader of NZ. (Source: Other)
Ms Ardern's decision to take six-weeks off was her decision "according to the circumstances", Mr English said.
"All I can say is having experienced the role of prime minister, having experienced life with a busy mother, everything needs to go very, very well for those kind of arrangements to stick, and that is why I hope the media, the public and the PM give their own family a bit of space for things to maybe not always be perfect.
Jacinda Ardern is taking six weeks off mid-2018 to give birth to her first child. (Source: Other)
"Anyone who has been a parent will know there are times when it doesn't all go well, even if someone is the prime minister they are going to need a bit of space and room for things to not always be perfect."
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