New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon has survived a second leadership showdown in four months, just 87 days out from the country’s general election.
Speaking to media after a three-hour meeting of his MPs in Wellington on Wednesday, Luxon said he had the full support of his party.
“There was a confidence vote in my leadership this morning at our caucus meeting, and I have the full support of our caucus,” Luxon said. “Our caucus is united, and it is determined to win this election.”
Unity display and context
As he spoke, Luxon was flanked by his deputy Nicola Willis, the National party president, Sylvia Wood, and three senior politicians tipped as potential contenders for his position: Chris Bishop, Erica Stanford and Mark Mitchell.
Luxon said National’s plan for the country was positive and the choice for voters was “crystal clear”. After less than one minute of speaking, he thanked the media and said his team was “going back to work”, taking no questions.
The challenge follows a rocky week for Luxon, who apologised to small business leaders after telling them they held a “negative view” about operating in a tough economy and had a “parent-child mentality” with the government. He also made a surprise pledge on talkback radio to put the electoral system, MMP, to a referendum if re-elected, which caught his party off guard.
Party divisions and political reaction
Rumours of a leadership coup began on Monday, escalating by Tuesday, prompting Luxon to call an urgent meeting. He survived a similar vote in April, but support for National has remained weak in polls due to sluggish economic growth and a series of missteps.
A 1News/Verian poll released Wednesday showed his popularity had dropped to 17%, though he remained more popular than Labour’s Chris Hipkins on 15%. Unemployment is at an 11-year high and inflation is above the central bank’s target of 1% to 3%.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said on social media that National had spent the day fighting over jobs, adding: “The National party is deeply divided. And the instability this week has shown exactly why nothing is getting better for hard working Kiwis.” Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the party’s focus was “on anything other than what matters to the people of this country.”
Expert analysis and outlook
Political commentator Ben Thomas said removing a sitting prime minister requires a high threshold, and in this case it was “better the devil you know”. He noted polling for National and Luxon had marginally improved. “It’s not exactly a new dawn, but it is a glimpse of sunlight.”
Dr Claire Robinson, a political commentator and author, said something had clearly gone wrong inside the party to warrant an urgent confidence vote, but they had made a risk assessment: “Is it better to stick with what people know rather than pick an untested leader?” She added that Luxon would need to prove he can avoid further missteps. “If he doesn’t actually do the work on himself, then there’s just going to be more and more moments like this.”
