Christopher Luxon’s continued bad numbers mean the National Party is now seriously talking about replacing him as leader. Sources inside caucus say that Luxon has three months to turn around his numbers, connect with the public and save his career.
Otherwise he will be replaced because he is failing to do the single most important thing any National MP cares about: saving their own skin.
This challenge looks difficult for Luxon to overcome.
He has proven he is a third grader wanting to play for the All Blacks and more time will not turn him into a talented politician. Women don’t like him. People who believe in anything don’t like him because nobody knows what he believes, and free marketers can go with ACT while nationalists can go with New Zealand First – both parties known for believing in things.
Like most National leaders, no one could ever accuse Luxon of having convictions or believing in anything other than he should be running things.
Expect the opposition to start hunting the wounded Luxon and hammering him on just about everything they can, because they can sense his weakness.
The media is, of course, included in the opposition, and they will start putting him under pressure, too, as they can definitely smell blood in the water. This will keep his numbers down and make his survival even more difficult.
Luxon needs to stop playing pocket billiards, to start standing for something like leaving the ruinous Paris Climate Accord or getting rid of Treaty Principles and to stop pandering to the reality-phobes who believe a bloke can turn himself into a woman by simply declaring it to be so.
He won’t do any of that: instead he will continue to pander to the liberal elite, send all his MPs to irrelevant things like pride parades and completely fail to deliver any red meat to the right-wing voters.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the GoodOil - where this article was sourced.
This challenge looks difficult for Luxon to overcome.
He has proven he is a third grader wanting to play for the All Blacks and more time will not turn him into a talented politician. Women don’t like him. People who believe in anything don’t like him because nobody knows what he believes, and free marketers can go with ACT while nationalists can go with New Zealand First – both parties known for believing in things.
Like most National leaders, no one could ever accuse Luxon of having convictions or believing in anything other than he should be running things.
Expect the opposition to start hunting the wounded Luxon and hammering him on just about everything they can, because they can sense his weakness.
The media is, of course, included in the opposition, and they will start putting him under pressure, too, as they can definitely smell blood in the water. This will keep his numbers down and make his survival even more difficult.
Luxon needs to stop playing pocket billiards, to start standing for something like leaving the ruinous Paris Climate Accord or getting rid of Treaty Principles and to stop pandering to the reality-phobes who believe a bloke can turn himself into a woman by simply declaring it to be so.
He won’t do any of that: instead he will continue to pander to the liberal elite, send all his MPs to irrelevant things like pride parades and completely fail to deliver any red meat to the right-wing voters.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the GoodOil - where this article was sourced.
24 comments:
Bring it on.
Problem is, "Where have all the real men gone?"
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
I heard luxon say on kerre woodham zb last week that his mum taught him to always listen to the other sides point of view and to try and find common ground, or something similar.. He seems like a good guy, but he is not right for these times.
PM Luxon only needs to say 'I agree with my Coalition partners on removing NZ from the Paris Accord."
If that is not possible Luxon has to explain why the costs involved of the Paris Accord are different from Simon Watts the minister involved who claimed it is pocket change. All other professionals etc claim that the cost is 20plus billion. It is a very big issue.
Having an empty vessel of a Prime Minister might not be such a bad thing.
The personality of cult and unashamed media adoration directed at the previous "elected" Prime Minister was nauseating and achieved nothing but create bitter resentment and division in society.
So quite happy for Luxon to continue to delegate responsibility to the talent pool to do the leg work.
Being a Prime Minister should not be about hogging the spotlight, dominating the media for personal gain, acting the shrill or feigning compassion in Oscar like performances to swindle awards and gongs.
Quite happy for Luxon to sit in the background while the vandalism from previous govt is cleaned up.
I guess you are also quite happy for Luxon to sit back while the seditionist Maori Sovereignty Movement marches on.....??
Anon 10.46 AM is absolutely correct. It is the failure to recognise let alone directly address the threat posed to New Zealand by the Maori Coup and He Puapua that is defining our PM. He is not simply allowing it to happen, he is patently encouraging and enabling it. e.g. MACA amendments stopped dead! He will die in a ditch rather than face up to the real and present danger. I find the chap to be either supercilious or arrogant, maybe both? Frankly it is frightening to think that we ditched Ardern but were then rewarded with Luxon. We definitely need someone capable to step up to the plate - is there a benevolent dictator out there anywhere?
Mystified by your Treaty Principles comment Cam? I'm surprised you can't see the arrogance and mischief of the PM in his spiking of it without hearing the arguments - denying the public again any say on something it has had to pick up the tab on for a very long time. For that alone (imho) he deserves what's coming to him.
Peters has the seditionist movement in his sights and more than competent to oppose their divisive rhetoric.
Anon @ 11.22am - Yeah right, Tui anyone
I haven’t taken any notice of what Luxon says on TV One news for a long time.
Agree: denial of a referendum to record NZ citizens ' views is - by far - Luxon's worst fault.
People would give him solid support to tackle the complex socio- economic challenges as well as foreign affairs/defense etc.
But no - his refusal to listen to the people on race relations ( as these now stand) will be his downfall.
I am waiting hopefully for NZ First to take aim and fire. But I am preparing for disappointment. I have lived long enought to realise that politics is only a game of power and corruption. People and democracy mean nothing to them and there is no accountability for their abject failures.
MC
Regrettably, too often Winston talks the talk but not walks the walk
Is their anyone more daft than a leader who could "have it all" but chooses not to? He is so immersed in the Maori nonsense and climate nonsense that he chooses to distance himself from the very people who voted him in. As for the Justice committee on the Treaty Principles Bill, words fail one. A bunch of woke, disrespectful and arrogant people I have yet to watch and listen to.
National don't have a popular leader back there. If they take him out Chris Hipkins will make the greatest political comeback since Donald Trump.
True. Actually they are signing their own death warrant as serious MPs capable of objective positions - though, will the public grasp this?
The real test is who will National replace him with. Pretty much all the National top dogs are as woke as he is. And please, don't suggest Judith Collins. She's had her day and failed miserably.
This is the perfect time to promote a true centre-right MP from the bleachers who actually wants to do all the things National said they would do in the Coalition agreements, with bells on!
Will that happen? Of course not, because this is National and they have a track record of being bloody useless so I'm confident that's exactly how they'll remain.
Luxon, just go gracefully, and let someone else do the job you were elected to do, but chose to fail us.
Luxon is like a ukulele player in a punk rock band or perhaps a dopleganger of Neil in the Young Ones - 'I don't really do anything because I don't really have a clue what I'm doing'.
Corporate woke out of control, being led by the CEO of our government.
Andrew Bayly will stand down as a government minister after an “animated discussion” with a staffer, during which he “placed a hand on their upper arm, which was inappropriate”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has accepted Bayly’s resignation.
Crusher is NOT the answer - she already proved that -now too bush threatening China
I believe Luxon's nick name in ANZ was "roll on"!
Remember Shipley rolled Bolger. Shipley had been a teacher! Well the same person is now calling Seymour a second hand car dealer. Has she forgotten her failure as a Director for Mainzeal. Wasn’t able to read or interpret a set of accounts. These “has beens” should quietly drift away and never be seen or heard from again
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