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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has found herself in a rather sticky situation after calling David Seymour, leader of the opposition Act Party, an "arrogant prick" in parliament on Tuesday (Dec. 13).

Seymour, leader of the minor opposition ACT party, was asking Ardern to give an example where she made a mistake, apologised for it "properly", and fixed it.

In response to Seymour's question, Ardern said that "there's been a number of occasions where we (the government) acknowledge that we will not have perfect responses", and that she stands by the work that the government has done as they made decisions that were in the best interests of the country at the time.

After finishing her response, Ardern took her seat, but her desk microphone picked up some words that were not meant for Seymour to hear, "Such an arrogant prick".

Ardern had since apologised to Seymour for the remark through a text, The New Zealand Herald reported.

"The great irony is now I actually have got her to apologise for something. So that’s progress," Seymour said, adding that he saw Ardern's apology as "a victory". 

Waning popularity

Ardern has received praise internationally for her response to the Covid pandemic and has had high approval ratings for most of her two terms in office.

But a political poll in August 2022 shows a dip in her popularity. AFP reported that opinion polls showed Ardern's Labour party trailing the opposition National Party by five percentage points.

Ardern is also under increasing political pressure due to the increasing cost of living.

Top image via Getty Images.