Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will remain National Party leader after securing the support of his caucus during an urgent meeting at Parliament today.
The meeting was called by Luxon as reports of internal dissatisfaction intensified, less than three months before the November 7 general election. National MPs ultimately backed Luxon to continue leading the party and the country, ending — for now — several days of speculation about his future.
However, the extraordinary meeting marks the second time in four months that Luxon has had to confront questions about whether he retains the confidence of his MPs.
Luxon spoke to media just after midday saying “There was a confidence vote in my leadership this morning at our caucus meeting, and I have the full support of our caucus. And our caucus is united, and it is determined to win this election.”
Potaka backs Prime Minister
Before the meeting, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka publicly backed Luxon.
“I support Christopher Luxon as leader of the National Party.” Potaka said.
Asked whether he had been approached about supporting another leader, Potaka did not directly answer but repeated his support for both the National leader and Prime Minister.
Potaka said his own priority remained representing the people of Hamilton West.
Six months of pressure
Luxon’s leadership has been under sustained pressure during the past six months as National has struggled in several polls and the economy has remained weak. In April, he called a formal confidence vote, which he said caucus passed “clearly and decisively”.
Recent pressure followed several political gaffes, including Luxon raising the possibility of another referendum on the MMP electoral system without first consulting colleagues or coalition partners. He was also criticised for telling business leaders to “be adult” rather than expect government assistance.
The latest 1News Verian poll put Luxon on 17 percent as preferred prime minister, ahead of Labour leader Chris Hipkins on 15 percent, but National remained behind Labour.
Luxon has survived, but requiring two caucus showdowns within four months means questions about his authority are unlikely to disappear. The greater test will be whether National can now unite behind him and rebuild public support before election day.