When people talk about the United Nations, they don't mention the invasive bugs surrounding its New York headquarters. Photo / Thomas Coughlan
When people talk about the United Nations, they don't mention the invasive bugs surrounding its New York headquarters. Photo / Thomas Coughlan
It would be easy to lose your head at the United Nations.
You couldn't throw a stone at the UN headquarters at New York without hitting a world leader of some kind of another - which is probably why security tends to get snotty if you so much as throwa glance in the wrong direction.
But the UN headquarters, and the city that surrounds it, has a way of humbling even a relatively famous (by New Zealand standards anyway) leader like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Ardern is one of a number of leaders this week calling for global solutions to problems like the food crisis and online extremism. But these lofty goals got off to a rough start on Tuesday when the New Zealand team lost a battle with its own doorman on Tuesday.
The prime minister holds a daily stand up with media each day in New York. These were meant to be held at a quiet spot outside the apartment of New Zealand's permanent representative to the UN.
But the doorman at the apartment wasn't having a bar of that, despite the pleas of media, MFAT and Ardern's office (Ardern was herself in the apartment building and stayed out of the kerfuffle).
Cool heads prevailed, but media, MFAT, and Prime Minister's Office found themselves stuck between New Zealand's exacting doorman, and Ardern's secret service detail (on loan from the Americans) who had gripes about doing a standup on the footpath.
A slain bug. It was apprehended after it swarmed the prime minister and media. Photo / Thomas Coughlan
A compromise was struck, and a standup location was found under the beating sun at another corner of the building. Unfortunately this location had already been claimed by a swarm of spotted lantern flies, an invasive moth-like pest that apparently went rife in New York City during the pandemic.
New Yorkers are told to murder the flies wherever they see them, with officials warning they're a prodigious harasser of crops like hops, blueberries, grapes and apples.
To that list might be added prime ministers and journalists. As cameras rolled, the prime minister was set about upon by the pests.
She was protected by the eagle eye of her press secretary who discreetly whipped one of the flies away (alas the doorman was unable to witness the strike - he might not have been so keen to pull rank against the PM's office next time).
This journalist was also attacked by the vile little creatures, unfortunately right at the time he was meant to be asking the prime minister a question.
"Before you get completely accosted," Ardern said, gently urging to wrap up the press conference before the media scrum was enveloped in a plague of the beasts.
"They seem to be quite attracted to you," Ardern said.
I couldn't help but wonder whether there's more to be found on the streets of New York than being courted by an invasive bug species.
While I was still extracting lantern flies from my suit and bags, one of my colleagues caught the eye of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron was taking questions from New Zealand and French media on a Christchurch Call initiative to tackle online extremism.
After a long answer to a question from Newshub reporter Amelia Wade (formerly of the Herald), Macron gave a wry grin and a quick, but obvious wink in her direction.
