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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon emerged from a more than three-hour National Party caucus meeting on Wednesday to declare that a motion of confidence in his leadership had passed with full support. “I have the full support of our caucus… Our caucus is united, and it is determined to win this election,” Luxon told reporters, according to accounts from 1News and RNZ. The prime minister had convened the session himself to confront increased speculation over his role as leader. This New Zealand PM survives second leadership challenge ahead of election as his preferred prime minister rating reached a new low in polling released the same day.
This marked the second such test for Luxon in four months after he similarly called and passed a confidence vote in April. The Guardian reported at the time that Luxon blamed media coverage for creating a soap opera around his leadership while polls continued to slump for the National Party. RNZ noted that despite rumours of MPs sounding out alternatives such as Erica Stanford, figures including Chris Penk publicly affirmed their backing for Luxon following the latest gathering.
A string of recent controversies fuelled the renewed questions about his position, 1News reported in its coverage of the leadership meeting. Luxon drew criticism for suggesting a referendum on the MMP electoral system in a live radio interview without prior consultation among colleagues. He also apologised after telling business owners they exhibited a “parent-child mentality” toward government and relied excessively on assistance, comments that stirred backlash from the sector, according to a New Zealand Herald timeline of events leading to the showdown.
The 1News Verian poll published on Wednesday placed Luxon’s preferred prime minister rating at 17 percent, a fresh low for his time in office, although he remained ahead of Labour leader Chris Hipkins at 15 percent. Support for the National Party has weakened as economic conditions stayed difficult. Government figures show unemployment climbing to 5.6 percent, an 11-year high that has compounded pressures on households, the poll coverage indicated.
Luxon led his centre-right party to victory in the 2023 general election after a career as chief executive of Air New Zealand, promising to tackle the cost of living and deliver tax relief. In remarks after that win he pledged that the government would deliver for every New Zealander. Coverage from AP News on the earlier April vote noted that those promises have faced challenges amid persistent economic stagnation and coalition complexities.
Tensions with coalition partners from ACT and New Zealand First have added to the internal strains, with both David Seymour and Winston Peters criticising aspects of policy direction at times, 1News reported. The latest confidence vote puts the focus back on policy execution and election planning for the November 7 ballot, according to post-meeting statements from the prime minister’s office. Luxon used his brief appearance with media to reiterate that the caucus would now concentrate on its plan to secure victory at the polls.
