Ardern irked by age question as she meets Finland PM Sanna Marin
Sanna Marin is on a working visit to New Zealand and Australia this week, the first ever by a Finnish prime minister.
But did she meet her Kiwi counterpart Jacinda Ardern just because they're both women of a similar age?
That was the question from a New Zealand journalist -- a man -- at a press conference in Auckland on Wednesday morning, and it drew a sharp response from the two prime ministers.
"A lot of people will be wondering, are you two just meeting because you're a similar age?" asked the reporter from Newstalk ZB, as Ardern looked on, seemingly irked.
"My first question is whether anyone ever asked Barack Obama or [former New Zealand prime minister] John Key if they met because they're of a similar age?" the NZ PM shot back.
"We have of course a high percentage of men in politics, it's reality, and because two women meet it's not just a matter of their gender," she added, before reciting a list of export items that flow between the two countries -- with the balance of trade in Finland's favour -- and highlighting how the EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement could really help open up new markets in Finland for New Zealand exports.
The question about the ages of the two prime ministers -- Sanna Marin is 37, Jacinda Ardern is 42 -- came after other questions from NZ journalists about whether the two women would be mentoring each other; if young female politicians have to work harder to avoid criticism of their personal lives; and whether Marin was concerned the New Zealand media was calling her the "party prime minister".
The Finnish PM said she and Ardern had talked about the need to support women's rights, especially with the current situation in Iran, and that there were many areas where the two countries could tighten
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