His poll numbers are falling. His support base is restless. The public mood is shifting from frustration to disillusionment. The promises of bold reform and strong leadership have given way to committee politics, compromise, and spin. Instead of being a clear alternative to Jacinda Ardern, Luxon has ended up looking like a slightly more corporate version of her. He has adopted many of the same positions, offered the same kinds of vague reassurances, and surrounded himself with advisors more focused on optics than outcomes.
Luxon talks like a corporate executive on a leadership retreat. He sounds rehearsed, and careful. Governing a country is not a branding exercise, and right now the country does not need another carefully managed public relations operation. It needs leadership. It needs direction. It needs guts.
Luxon belongs in the boardroom. He thrived as CEO of Air New Zealand, where his job was to keep shareholders happy, streamline operations, and give media-friendly soundbites. Politics requires something different. It demands vision. It demands instinct. It demands the ability to read the public mood without a pollster whispering in your ear. So far, Luxon has proven he is lacking all of that.
National's 2023 campaign tapped into a genuine hunger for change. Voters were fed up with Labour's soft-on-crime approach, its obsession with identity politics, and the disastrous way they handled the “COVID pandemic.” Since forming a government, Luxon has been tentative and cautious. He talks about getting things done, but the public sees little action. He talks about economic management, but families are still struggling to pay the bills. Instead of action, we get committees, working groups, and hollow announcements.
Luxon’s political instincts are centre-left, no matter what colour tie he wears. He has no interest in rocking the boat. He wants to be liked by the media. He wants to look “reasonable” to Wellington. This country did not vote for reasonable. It voted to course-correct. It voted for someone who would roll back the excesses of the Ardern years, not preserve them under new management.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
Luxon talks like a corporate executive on a leadership retreat. He sounds rehearsed, and careful. Governing a country is not a branding exercise, and right now the country does not need another carefully managed public relations operation. It needs leadership. It needs direction. It needs guts.
Luxon belongs in the boardroom. He thrived as CEO of Air New Zealand, where his job was to keep shareholders happy, streamline operations, and give media-friendly soundbites. Politics requires something different. It demands vision. It demands instinct. It demands the ability to read the public mood without a pollster whispering in your ear. So far, Luxon has proven he is lacking all of that.
National's 2023 campaign tapped into a genuine hunger for change. Voters were fed up with Labour's soft-on-crime approach, its obsession with identity politics, and the disastrous way they handled the “COVID pandemic.” Since forming a government, Luxon has been tentative and cautious. He talks about getting things done, but the public sees little action. He talks about economic management, but families are still struggling to pay the bills. Instead of action, we get committees, working groups, and hollow announcements.
Luxon’s political instincts are centre-left, no matter what colour tie he wears. He has no interest in rocking the boat. He wants to be liked by the media. He wants to look “reasonable” to Wellington. This country did not vote for reasonable. It voted to course-correct. It voted for someone who would roll back the excesses of the Ardern years, not preserve them under new management.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
20 comments:
Let us be frank: Luxon's real commitment is to the He Puapua agenda. The economy is a secondary smokescreen. Voters will not forget the unethical rigging of the Selected Committee on ACT's Treaty Principles Bill - about which he said " I like nothing". So he must dislike Article 3 of the Treaty: equal citizenship ! He may even wish to lose the 2026 election so as to allow Maorification to accelerate. D Day is coming.
Matua writes some good no nonsense articles about social matters.
Unfortunately, straying into the hostile left wing media's senseless abuse of Luxon, has cruelly exposed Matua's cerebral limitations.
Government is the biggest business in NZ so it requires a strong, experiencd, qualified, and successful leader.
There is no better qualified NZer than Luxon and his prime ministerial results for kiwis are coming thick and thin.
So what is the motivation for the senseless media Luxon abuse? Could it be Luxons determination to take on NZs ridiculous big business cartels?
The banking, electricity, and supermarket cartels will use the money they extort from Kiwis everyday, to attempt to convince those same Kiwis to vote against their only hope for a better quality of life.
Don't be fooled. The alternative to Luxon is unthinkable.
Balanced: Alternatives to Luxon are not unthinkable. A new and courageous leader for National could be just what’s needed to strengthen the Coalition’s chances at the next election. However, if you were to say alternatives to a centre right coalition are unthinkable, I’d be inclined to agree. The descent to banana republic would accelerate substantially under a Labour-led coalition. For now, Luxon presides over a much more gentle, though sadly continuing, decline into ethnocracy - i.e. he’s merely the lesser of two evils. It’s not enough.
That sound you hear is Matua hitting a nail on the head, yet again.
His analysis exactly captures a growing mood.
The question is: How will this all pan out?
If polls continue to worsen, will National MPs (faced with the prospect of losing their jobs next year) opt for a leadership spill? They would need to make such a move before the end of the year if a replacement was to be given sufficient time to turn things around.
Who might be the replacement? There has been plenty of speculation about the options - none of them outstanding IMO.
And would they make a difference anyway?
The mood Matua describes so well cannot be dispelled by mere talk. Action, bold action, will be necessary to convince once supportive, now disillusioned former National voters.
Luxon - 'time to move on'! With respect to all those who have posted a comment (so far) and to those who will follow -
- I am not sure who, currently within the National Party on the Treasury Benches has the wherewithal - to be " an outstanding leader" (lower case L intended)
- if you have a 'suggestion', very clearly define why 'that person' would merit the role of being "leader"
- and please 'do not' suggest Winston, oh god no.
Anon. Who is this mythical, unnamed.leader you speak of?
Has your preferred leader had success in:
1. Leading large organisations
2. Picking up a dispirited party, identifying and promoting the top talent to form a motivated harmonious team?
3. Winning an election
4. Creating a vision and actions for a coalition of dispirate mps to unite under.
5. Managing Peters so he actually contributes something to nz for the first time in his life and does not bring another coalition crashing down.
6. Managing two bitter political rivals so they work harmoniously together.
7. Taking on the large enduring cartels holding NZ back and hell bent on bringing down a leader brave and ethical enough to take them on?
8. Created a plan then reporting progress on that plan to every NZer, every quarter?
9. Maintained economic growth whilst restraining house prices (for the first time in my life time).
10. Creating a sensible infrastructure plan / agency, and funding that plan despite being lumbered with the disastrous Clark advised Ardern, self enrichment, multi billion dollar debt.
11. Put a top nz businessman In charge of reorganizing, automating, and ultimately downsizing the nz public service.
12. Sensibly and measuredly ridding us of Maori mumbo jumbo and tax payer finded maori con artists (bye bye Mr Tamahere and the Maori Kings family) so we're not crippled by endless hikois.
13. Implementing a world class education system which ia already providing marked improvements in attendance and results.
14. Carefully managing the despicable, Labour PIJF Supporting, NZ media so as not to lose middle voters back to Labour.
I could go on but I'll stop and give you a chance to come up with a name.
Dear Balanced - " In my life time, here in NZ, I have not see a Prime Minister who has shown capability, against the list you have provided.
The only segment I would agree on is - " Managing Peters etc " and would you be surprised if i said - ' He is considered one of our better politicians' (vomit bag in top draw)- by many Kiwi's!
Oh and Jim Bolger ' tried to pick up a dispirited party', only to have Jenny Shipley ' kneecap him'.
A name: Simeon Brown. He doesn't look robust but he's the pick of the bunch.
Janine. Run the list above over Brown. Let's see how he measures up.
I'll get you started....
1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. No
You can take it from here.
Anon 9:07 - You’ve got the measure of Mr Christopher Luxon. Well said.
Balanced, as good as Mr Luxon is , you make him sound like a certain newspaper reporter who gets changed in a phone box, flies about in a red cape and his underpants outside his leggings. Luxon is good at his economics, but he should allow his coalition partners to concentrate on the other issues and not undermine them
Anon 3.33. Try doing a bit more reading..... the list above is a subset of Luxon's achievements.
There truly is no better qualified PM in NZ.
I asked detractors many times for a PM alternative. Janine's Simeon suggestion above is the only answer i received.
Browne, Penk, and Bishop are great ministers but none of them possess Luxon's management pedigree and successful track record!
Hi b. In reply: It's a matter of authenticity for me. He has a huge portfolio to manage with Health. He manages it well, speaks well and authoritatively in parliament. He doesn't seem obsessed with Maorification. He appears humble and just gets on with the job. We don't know how good a person is as a leader until they are given the role. Maybe with supportive people around him he could progress over the years as David Seymour did.
Janine. Your description of Brown is certainly true of Luxon.
Luxon was recognized as an exceptional leader by blue chip board members..... has Brown?
And before all those who were fooled by the Clark advised Ardern's maori smokescreen, and those who contine to be fooled by the Labour spindoctor and disgraceful NZ reporters attempts to tar Luxon with racist outrage, here is an excerpt from the health NZ web site Brown oversees ...
Te Tiriti o Waitangi framework
The Ministry of Health’s Te Tiriti o Waitangi framework recognises Treaty obligations as a foundation for achieving Māori health aspirations and equity for Māori.
Anon 1123. The first part of your comment is profound.
The second part, like all the Labour spin doctors comments, is bs, without detail or reference to back it up.
The polls suggest voters are seeing through your amatuerish attempts to manipulate them.
Facts Please , NOT opinion . The MACA -Seabed and Foreshore legislation has not progressed . Public services job numbers are virtually the same . Maorification is rife . National is spending Taxpayers funds greater than Labour . The existing coalition MUST remain however the leadership MUST change as NZ has to be , MUST be reunited . A dedicated upper house would be my pick with a casting chairmans vote from someone with acumen.
Craig Stobo , Greg Foran , Robert MacCulloch come to mind.
Basil. Same question for you.... who will lead our country better than Luxon and how does your suggested leader rank against the 15 points above.
I've been asking Luxon detractors the "who else" question for a year now and Janine is the only person brave enough to answer it.
Her suggestion didn't rate so well against the Luxon list.
Luxon needs to do something to avoid a Clark advised McAnulty from taking what's left of the nz silverware.
My suggestion is a swiss styled referenda system..
In other words, make taxpayers the upper house.
I think that was my comment which had nothing contentious in it - only truth as I see it, however it has clearly vanished ...
Blimey balanced, we agree on soething ...
Why Luxon remains unconvincing: leads a government elected to drain the swamp—and instead installed sprinklers.
⸻
1. Academia Still Grifting
• Race-based ideology and decolonisation dogma still dominate universities.
• No reform of funding rorts that reward activist research over excellence.
• Te Pūkenga lumbers on—bloated, incoherent, and ideologically captured.
2. Books Still Closed
• No audit of Labour’s Covid blowout, media payoffs, or iwi sweetheart deals.
• No commission, no forensic accounting, no public reckoning.
• “Line-by-line review” = a euphemism for kicking the can.
3. Schools Still Indoctrinating
• Gender theory and identity politics still embedded in the curriculum.
• Ardern-era “inclusive education” policy untouched.
• Parents still sidelined on what their kids are taught about sex and gender.
4. Co-Governance Still Creeping
• Māori Health Authority gone, but tribal veto power survives in water, conservation, and planning.
• Waitangi Tribunal untouched. RMA reforms repackage the same race-based entitlements.
• Treaty still treated as a living constitution, not a historical agreement.
5. Councils Still Gouging
• Rates keep rising—unchecked and untied to outcomes.
• No controls on council-level DEI programs or Treaty consultancy fees.
• Central government shrugs as local bureaucrats build empires.
6. Culture Still Captive
• Public media remains activist-led. State branding still soaked in bilingual tokenism.
• DEI bureaucracies untouched. Cancel culture unchallenged.
• Immigration settings encourage volume over value.
He was given a mandate to reverse Labour’s cultural and economic vandalism.
He chose management over mandate. Optics over overhaul.
Kiwis asked for a reset. What they got was a smoother ride into the same wall.
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