New Zealand’s Luxon calls meeting of lawmakers to address leadership speculation

By Alasdair Pal and Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Tuesday he had called an urgent in-person meeting of National Party lawmakers for Wednesday, amid calls from some quarters for a leadership change less than three months before an election.

“It is clear from various media reports and conversations there is increased speculation about my leadership,” Luxon said in a post on X.

National Party lawmakers will meet in Wellington at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday (2130 GMT on Tuesday) to discuss the issue, he added.

The New Zealand Herald reported late on Monday that National lawmakers had been making calls to discuss a possible leadership change.

Luxon’s leadership has returned to the spotlight following a series of public missteps. Last week, he said in a live radio interview that he was open to a referendum on the country’s electoral system without first discussing the idea with party colleagues.

He also had to apologise after telling a Rotorua Business Chamber breakfast audience that businesses needed to “be adult” rather than look to the government for help. 

Luxon has been prime minister since late 2023, when his National Party formed a coalition government with New Zealand First and ACT after the election that year. National’s support has weakened as the economic recovery has struggled to gain momentum.

Unemployment rose to 5.6% in the June quarter, its highest level in nearly 11 years, while annual inflation was 4.1%, above the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target range of 1% to 3%. 

Most opinion polls show National narrowly trailing the centre-left Labour Party, although New Zealand’s proportional representation system means the November 7 general election remains too close to call. The latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia poll put Luxon at 23.2% as preferred prime minister, compared with 19.8% for opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins.

Luxon survived a leadership confidence vote in April, which he called after earlier media speculation that he could be ousted. The vote was held behind closed doors, and the party did not disclose the result. 

If National were to replace Luxon as leader, he would also cease to be prime minister. A governing party has not replaced a sitting New Zealand prime minister between elections since 1997.

New Zealand media have named National lawmakers Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford as possible successors to Luxon.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)