Auckland (The NZ Today)
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called National MPs to an urgent face-to-face caucus meeting in Wellington on Wednesday morning, saying growing speculation about his leadership needs to be resolved quickly with the election only 90 days away.
Luxon announced the 9.30am meeting on X on Tuesday afternoon, acknowledging publicly that questions over his future had intensified following media reports and conversations within the party.
“It is clear from various media reports and conversations there is increased speculation about my leadership,” Luxon said.
He said continued division and disunity would become a major distraction for National as it heads towards the November election, and was unfair to voters as well as party candidates, supporters and volunteers.
“For these reasons, this issue needs to be resolved quickly,” Luxon said, confirming he had called the urgent in-person caucus meeting.
The move represents a significant escalation from earlier in the day, when senior minister Chris Bishop said National’s leadership was not on the agenda for a previously scheduled caucus meeting and insisted Luxon continued to have his full confidence.
Bishop, whose name has repeatedly surfaced as a possible future National leader, also delivered a message to colleagues who have been anonymously speaking to journalists about the leadership.
He described such briefings as “unhelpful” and said National MPs should stop talking to media anonymously about internal party matters.
Bishop nevertheless acknowledged the reports suggested at least some MPs were unhappy, saying the coverage indicated there were “a couple of people” prepared to speak publicly through the media.
He rejected suggestions that he was mounting a leadership challenge and reiterated his support for Luxon.
Leadership speculation intensified on Monday after the New Zealand Herald reported National MPs had been making calls about a possible change at the top, with one unnamed MP reportedly saying a leadership change was a question of “who”, rather than whether it would happen.
The pressure follows a difficult period for Luxon that has included an apology over his remarks to Rotorua businesses, controversy around his handling of Winston Peters, scrutiny over his use of a Defence Force aircraft and his surprise call for another referendum on MMP — a proposal that caught some of his own MPs off guard.
Questions also followed this week after Luxon discussed possible future increases to fuel excise and raised an accommodation levy and further bank taxation as options, just after National had unveiled new Budget Responsibility Rules centred on keeping taxes low and reducing government spending.
Luxon previously tested his support with a caucus confidence vote in April after similar questions emerged about his leadership. He survived that challenge and subsequently said he had the backing of his MPs.
Now, only four months later, the issue is back — and Luxon has said he wants it dealt with immediately.
Thus, the Wednesday morning’s meeting will be closely watched to see whether National MPs reaffirm Luxon’s leadership or whether the internal dissatisfaction reported over recent days develops into something more serious.
