PM Jacinda Ardern reveals her Game of Thrones-inspired nickname

  • 02/08/2018

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she's known as the 'Mother of Dragons' by some of her colleagues in Government. 

The nickname is a reference to Daenerys Targaryen, a character in the hit HBO TV series Game of Thrones. Like Daenerys, Ms Ardern is a young female leader who rose to power despite many odds against her. 

Daenerys Targaryen, the 'Mother of Dragons', in Game of Thrones, season 7.
Daenerys Targaryen, the 'Mother of Dragons', in Game of Thrones, season 7. Photo credit: HBO

Speaking to Newshub, she joked that she'd have preferred her Game of Thrones-inspired nickname to have influenced the design of her puppet caricature at the Backbenchers bar opposite Parliament - but instead she was made into a DJ in a tracksuit.

"I was desperate for that to be my Backbenchers caricature so when they played Game of Thrones I was slightly disappointed when they unveiled me as a DJ... in a tracksuit!" she said. 

She concedes it was a glamorous tracksuit, with sequins, but "it's no Mother of Dragons".

The Prime Minister watched as her likeness joined the many other political figures lining the walls of the Wellington establishment in February. 

To the sounds of the Game of Thrones theme music, the newest addition was revealed to be a particularly toothy Ms Ardern in full DJ mode, complete with a Labour-red tracksuit.

She took the unflattering caricature in stride, calling it a "remarkable piece" at the time. She also said her orthodontist "would be proud". 

Other New Zealand political icons who have been represented as Backbencher puppets include John Key, Metiria Turei and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

Newshub.