Luxon survives leadership vote months before NZ election

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday, August 12, he had survived a leadership vote prompted by a challenge from his defence minister, less than three months before a general election.

The vote took place during a hastily convened, closed-door meeting of Luxon's centre-right National Party lawmakers at Parliament in Wellington that ran for more than three hours. Luxon emerged flanked by his lawmakers to give a brief statement and left without taking questions from reporters.

"There was a confidence vote in my leadership this morning at our caucus meeting," he said. "I had the full support of our caucus and our caucus is united and it is determined to win this election."

Luxon did not say how many lawmakers had voted for him to continue, though such ballots are usually secret.

Hours later, he said in a statement that the vote had been prompted by a leadership challenge from his defence minister, Chris Penk, and that he had removed Penk from his ministerial portfolios. On Wednesday night, Luxon's office distributed a statement from Penk in which the ousted challenger said he would quit Parliament altogether.

The vote was the second Luxon had called on his own leadership since April, leaving lingering questions so close to the election scheduled for November 7.

The April vote followed a drop in polling for National, while this week's followed recent public remarks by Luxon that some in his party viewed as gaffes.

On Tuesday, Luxon took the rare step of disclosing on social media that he faced renewed rumblings about his leadership and announced he would call a meeting of his lawmakers on Wednesday, August 12, to resolve it.

"It is my firm belief that division and disunity are a major distraction only 90 days out from the election," he wrote on X. "I also believe this distraction is unfair to the New Zealand people, and dedicated National Party candidates, supporters and volunteers, when there is so much at stake."

National has led a right-wing coalition government since New Zealand's 2023 election. Luxon, a former airline executive who entered Parliament in 2020, has led the party since 2021.

Who had prompted the leadership rumblings initially remained unclear, with no one publicly confirming a leadership bid and those speculatively named by news outlets denying it. Several hours after the vote, Luxon named Penk as his challenger and said his now-former minister's position had become "untenable."

Penk, 47, had also held the building and construction portfolio and was responsible for security services and space.

A former lawyer who served in Australia's navy, he entered Parliament in 2017. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, August 12, but in the statement attributed to him by Luxon's office, Penk said he had "reflected on my political future with my family tonight" and would not seek reelection in November effectively ending his political career.

"I am proud of the progress I have contributed to as a Minister this term," Penk's statement said. "However, I have decided it is the time for me to seek other opportunities to serve New Zealand." The statement did not criticise Luxon or reference his leadership bid.

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins, of the centre-left Labour party, criticised Luxon and his party over the episode. "Backstabbing and infighting just means more delay and more distraction for New Zealand," he said. "If National can't govern itself, how can New Zealanders trust it to govern the country?"

Among the recent comments that appeared to fuel renewed leadership murmurings were remarks Luxon made to a business audience earlier this month, when he said some business leaders in New Zealand had a "parent-child mentality" and too often looked to the government for direction.

Luxon, who once worked as an executive at Unilever while living in the United States, has consistently presented himself as a business expert and has at times pointed to areas where he sees New Zealand falling short of global trends.

On his election, he had pledged to draw on that experience to reverse the country's recent economic woes. This month's remarks were criticised, including by some within his own party, as out of touch while the economy remains sluggish, and he later apologised for them.

In a separate episode, Luxon was forced to disclose that he had used a military aircraft to return to Wellington after a political party fundraiser.

He also surprised his own lawmakers this month by promising a referendum on New Zealand's electoral system if reelected, apparently without first informing his caucus. Both episodes were seen by some within his party as an unwelcome distraction ahead of the election and as reflecting Luxon's relative political inexperience.

(Sourced through PTI)