It took courage to resign from a job that is a privilege, and hard to walk away from. She deserves full credit for making the tough call, and extra credit for doing the right thing once she knew her heart was no longer in it.
It's unclear why she made the call now. Polls showing her approval rating steadily dropping can’t have helped. No one enjoys being disliked.
Her reputation internationally will remain high. An undefeated leader who delivered the first majority MMP government sounds a lot better than the leader who lost a third term.
