Damien Grant: I’d rather doom-scroll the Paris riots than spend an evening listening to a Luxon speech. But...

“From the very beginning, from the first moment, I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others.”

Thus said Elizabeth Bennet to William Darcy, as she rejected his proposal. For younger readers, imagine Bridget Jones delivering a similar line to Colin Firth.

Decisions are hard, and New Zealand faces a choice as compelling and consequential for our nation as that which confronted Bridget Jones as she weighed the merits and limitations of her two suitors.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Judged by their peers

The Herald's 'Mood of the Boardroom' survey has become a fixture in New Zealand's media calendar. Once a year, the chief executives and chairs of the country's largest companies deliver their verdict on political leaders.

What has made the past years different is that they are passing judgement on a government led by one of their former peers. National's leader Christopher Luxon was CEO of Air New Zealand, and his deputy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis, was a senior Fonterra executive before they entered politics.

Richard Prebble: Does Luxon know something we don’t?

Commentators are puzzled by Christopher Luxon’s determination to rule out a deal with TOP.

Perhaps Luxon knows something they don’t.

Political parties commission much more sophisticated polling that reveals who their supporters are and what might change their minds.

Richard Prebble: It is bizarre

Every election one sees the bizarre, but Christopher Luxon’s actions are inexplicable.

I saw on TV Luxon campaigning in Epsom with Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith was claiming he would be a good electorate MP. I laughed.

A friend of Goldsmith’s told me that Paul has often said how lucky he is not to be an electorate MP. Being National’s flag bearer in Epsom he gets a high list place, no one expects him to win, campaign seriously or do constituency work.

Peter Dunne: Leaders Debate

The first leaders' debate was a dismal affair. Neither leader was persuasive, nor were their responses especially convincing. Both failed to achieve the circuit breaker each was seeking to reinvigorate their currently stalling campaigns. Together, their performances explain why the two major parties are attracting the lowest combined support levels since MMP was introduced thirty years ago.

JC: Key and Luxon Don’t Get It?

At last weekend’s National Party election launch, John Key, in his address to the few who bothered to turn up, said people who were touting tactical voting were “dumb”. Insult! Luxon followed that up by describing the idea as “insane”. Desperation! These two have something of a history together and I’m not prepared to completely ‘knock’ either of them. To do so would be unfair as their contributions, good or bad, were done with what they consider the best of intent. They both harboured a desire to give something back to the country. However, that doesn’t mean they can escape criticism and the opportunity to do so is there aplenty.

Rodney Hide: Whatever they come up with

https://x.com/henrycooke/status/2103716319233511722?s=42

It took thirty seconds. Under a marquee, the Prime Minister was asked whether he agreed with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Yeah," said Christopher Luxon. "We support the international rules-based system, so that means we support the ICC and the ICJ. And they are the right people to make those determinations. And that's why we support whatever they come up with."

JC: I Know What’s Best for You

So, by his public utterances, says Christopher Luxon.

Well, no, you don’t. This article attempts to explain why he [Christopher Luxon] and a minority of his liberal henchmen and women are leading National to a poor election result and why the trajectory these people have put the party on must change. When I use the term ‘the party’ or ‘National’, I’m excluding those conservative MPs in the party who themselves are clearly not happy with the direction of National.

JC: We Do Not Want This

And we did not vote for this.

It’s now official: Christopher Luxon has the political nous of a bedbug. Making membership of the Paris Accord non-negotiable in post-election talks can only be regarded by those on the right as traitorous behaviour of the worst kind. What leader of the right, in their right mind, goes trampling all over their party base and those of their coalition partners? This is nothing short of mindless stupidity.

Pee Kay: “…we’re in bad company…”says Chris Luxon

We could be on the hook for up to $5 billion in carbon credits but Chris Luxon has made a pronouncement from on high that “remaining in the Paris climate agreement is a bottom line in any coalition negotiations…”

Is this another of Chris’s “big time outbursts” that just might end up inflicting pain on his posterior like the July decree might when he stated during a post-Cabinet press conference that National “ain’t doing business” with parties that want to spend, borrow, and increase taxes, pointing to TOP’s proposed land value tax.

Bob Edlin: Luxon keeps hooting (to the point of tedium) about no new taxes...

....but he dropped the ball when asked about Treaty policy

If you haven’t got the message, the Nats are counting on remaining in government by pledging not to introduce new taxes while portraying left-leaning parties as ravenous revenue grabbers.

The Nats might have other policies. But in the past week their campaign pitch has emphasised what they oppose – more taxes – rather than what they support.

Bob Edlin: The Nats (like Labour) have ruled out a streaming tax....

....but they have put their message on repeat

Those of us who keep an ear to proceedings in Parliament should have been left in no doubt this week about National’s policy position on a streaming tax. They are agin it.

Fair to say, they comprehensively laboured the point: after three days of hearing the PM and Paul Goldsmith banging on at Question Time about ruling it out of the National agenda, those listening would have been yearning to hear what they will be doing to improve our well-being rather than what they will not be doing.

Bruce Cotterill: Christopher Luxon leadership - National caucus coup attempt overshadows election issues

Christopher Luxon must really like his job. If he didn’t, I’m not sure why he would spend his time working in the environment he has had to endure over the past couple of weeks.

This week’s National Party shenanigans were as close to a political suicide mission as we have seen in this country. I’m not sure what the agitators in the National Party caucus were thinking, but they certainly weren’t thinking about the best interests of their party, the coalition, or, most importantly, the country.

Kineta Knight: Luxon survives confidence vote as National caucus backs leadership

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has survived another confidence vote in his leadership, declaring he has the full support of the National Party caucus.

Luxon emerged from this morning’s caucus meeting flanked by some of his most senior ministers, following renewed speculation about his future as National leader.

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

Damien Grant: One blunt speech, one apology, and a Prime Minister losing control

There is, the Prime Minister observed, a “parent-child mentality” when it comes to businesses relationship with government. “ I have literally sat in boardrooms across New Zealand, and the conversation goes: 'I wonder what the government's going to do? I wonder what the government's going to think?'. Who cares what the government thinks or does? Our job is to be adult, adult, adult.”

The Prime Minister was right although I’m not sure it was wise to say it out loud.

Richard Shaw: Coalition leadership is hard. Luxon’s ‘nuclear option’ of electoral reform is not the answer

Much to everyone’s surprise – including, it seems, his National Party colleagues – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has committed to offering voters the chance to revisit their electoral system. Again.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised – National has form when it comes to constitutional change.

Dr Don Brash: My advice for Christopher Luxon - Stand for something

There is an old political lesson which Christopher Luxon and the National Party would do well to remember:

If you stand for nothing, you get run over.

National is currently polling at around 29 percent. That is an extraordinary position for a first-term Government facing an Opposition still burdened by the failures of the Ardern years.

Mike's Minute: Of course Luxon ruled out the Opportunity Party

The funny thing about Christopher Luxon ruling out the Opportunity Party was I already thought he had.

Or if they hadn't, I assumed they would, so yesterday as I watched came as no surprise.

What possible connection is there between a centre-right coalition that extends out to the NZ First nationalism, to the ACT libertarianism, and the National low tax, classic centrist view of the world, and a party that hasn’t even got the 5% and wants to hand out money to everyone, whether they need it or want it or not?

David Farrar: Luxon rules out TOP

The Post reports:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has ruled out working with Opportunity after the election.

Opportunity has polled within a percentage point of the 5% threshold in three different public polls in recent weeks. If the party made it into Parliament on current polling its support would be needed for either the coalition or the Opposition parties to govern.

Pee Kay: National… the Enemy Within? (Part Three)

PART THREE: The Luxon Years, The Future, the Battle for New Zealand’s Democracy

On reflection, what made us think Christopher Luxon would be any different from the long line of previous National Prime Ministers who simply failed to hold our democracy dear?

The answer is simple, desperation.

Following six horrific years of the Ardern/Hipkins Labour governments, we were desperate for change. When Luxon looked us in the eye and stated, “We are one country, we deliver our public services to people on the basis of need, not ethnicity,” and “We are all equal under the law,” we believed him!