An increasingly unpopular prime minister scolded the media after surviving a tense caucus vote. It was a masterclass – just not in the art of leadership
B
eing prime minister is the hardest job in New Zealand. It requires presence, vision and the willingness to be publicly answerable for everything – to parliament, citizens, the party, business, the media. You can’t be accountable to one and not the other. Yet that’s what Christoper Luxon chose this week when he scolded the media and told them he would no longer engage with them on questions about his leadership.
For most of the last year, National, the lead party in a three-way coalition government, has been trailing the opposition Labour party in the polls. In January 2026 the gap was just 0.67% of a percentage point on average. Three months later, it widened to a 5.86% average with no signs of bottoming out.
The party is facing the possibility of being the first one-term National-led government since the party was founded in 1936. This prospect is embarrassing for its leadership, current and past. National has never led for less than three terms, ever.
