Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, but his leadership is a shaky mess, and it’s time to call it: Luxon shouldn’t be anywhere near the Beehive.
Let’s start with his dysfunctional coalition of neoliberal and fundamentalist misfits. Luxon’s National Party is clearly in an unhealthy relationship with ACT and NZ First, a marriage of convenience that’s fracturing under the weight of toxic masculinity, uncontrolled egos and conflicting agendas.
Winston Peters, his deputy and Foreign Affairs Minister, has publicly slapped him down over his trade rhetoric, fuming that Luxon’s “trade war” talk and uncounseled calls to world leaders were "short-sighted" and somehow reckless. Peters’ scathing “call me next time” jab exposed Luxon’s diplomatic naivety and obvious inability to manage his own team.
On Monday, RNZ reported:
Christopher Luxon doubles down on trade war comments after Winston Peters' criticism
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has repeated his view that there is a trade war playing out between the US and China, despite the foreign minister calling that language "hysterical".
Meanwhile, ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill saw Luxon making excuses and intentionally being absent from Parliament, dodging the fallout while iwi Crown relations soured even further. This isn’t leadership; it’s cowardice dressed in a suit. Luxon should have had the balls to dismiss David Seymour's plan for a badly written and racist policy document before it even entered the ballot. Instead, he tested the waters, at a great waste of taxpayers money, to see if Kiwis would accept a more divided and unequal nation.
Luxon’s mouth is another major liability. His doublespeak isn’t just embarrassing; it’s highly insulting to most right-thinking voters. Calling Wellington council “pretty lame-o” was juvenile, alienating local leaders and showing a staggering lack of gravitas. His claim that the Resource Management Act provisions were “insanely stupid” dismissed decades of policy nuance with the finesse of a sledgehammer. And then there’s his tone-deaf “economic growth must trump everything else” mantra while hobnobbing it in India, returning home once again empty handed. These aren’t mere slip-ups; they reveal a man who thinks complex issues can be solved with some childish insults and a few corporate buzzwords.
Each of these verbal blunders reveals a man out of touch with everyday hardworking Kiwis. He infamously called New Zealand “too wet and whiney,” sneering at a nation grappling with economic hardship and post-Covid fatigue. This wasn’t a one-off; Luxon’s disdain for New Zealander’s surfaced again when he dismissed the numerous Kiwis struggling with the cost-of-living crisis as being “bottom feeders” and labeled small business owners as “C-Listers.”
Contrast that with his claim of being “entitled” to backdated pay increases, rising to $520,000 by 2026, while also receiving a $13,000 accommodation allowance (while owning seven mortgage-free properties that earn him 15 times his current salary). If you're not pissed off at National's war on minimum wage growth, you haven't been paying attention. Let's not forget Luxon's claim for, and lies surrounding, $52,000 of taxpayers’ money to live in his own apartment, while a perfectly habitable Premier House was available. This type of freeloading on the taxpayer dime, while the country goes backwards, oozes privilege and hypocrisy and is one of the main reasons politicians are held in such contempt by the public.
Then there's Luxon's assessing student achievement on a curriculum that hadn't even been taught yet, plus his bizarre mix-up of reading and math for year 8 students. Clearly the PM isn’t across the numbers at all, particularly any statistics within his governments portfolios (because he’s excused himself from reading any Ministerial briefings). Unlike his predecessors on the other side of the house, Luxon can’t even get the basics about the country right. These aren’t just slip-ups; they’re windows into a smug, "just wing it" elitist mindset that should have no place within our Parliament.
Chris Hipkins has criticised Luxon for using inaccurate data on student achievement:
— Nick (@StrayDogNZ) August 6, 2024
"Assessing kids against a curriculum that they have not been taught is not a fair reflection of what kids are capable of"
Luxon continues to falsely claim 4 out of 5 students are years behind. pic.twitter.com/BeGRxCH1Sh
Morally, Luxon’s compass is suspect as well. His recent refusal to denounce Peters’ homophobic attacks on Green MP Benjamin Doyle suggests he’s more loyal to coalition partners than to decency and a belief in doing the right thing. His pandering to NZ First’s discriminatory and divisive bill, targeting public sector diversity, reeks of opportunism, not principled policy making. Likewise, Luxon’s claim that Labour’s focus on wellbeing budgets was “pretty woke” betrays a cynicism for the people and politics that he often cannot hide. His statements feel performative and scripted, more about optics than genuine beliefs. This is a man who bends with the wind, not one guided by any moral fortitude.
Along with the National Party’s environmental and social policy failures, the polls reflect Luxon's numerous PR disasters. National’s support wobbles, with Luxon’s personal popularity languishing at the lowest rate of any new incumbent Prime Minister ever. That's because most New Zealanders see through Luxon’s slick salesman veneer to the incompetent conman beneath. The mainstream media have obviously promoted their man, who's a relatively inexperienced politician, well above his station.
From untrue health and education statements to tough on crime rhetoric while police numbers dwindle and gang numbers explode, Luxon exhibits a penchant for bending the truth that would make even John Key blush. Then there’s the re-announcing of numerous Labour government funding decisions as their own and Luxon's defence spending hypocrisy (slashing NZDF jobs while preaching global security) plus cuts to numerous infrastructure projects while claiming to be building back the economy better, clearly showing that Luxon’s leadership is marked with a plethora of contradictions even National's weel-paid propagandists cannot hide. There are now so many inconsistencies between Luxon's pre-election promises and his government's non-delivery that it's impossible for their PR firms to cope. How sad, never mind.
Luxon’s defenders might argue that he’s navigating a tough global landscape, but that’s no excuse for his lack of vision, remorseless bluster, coalition mismanagement, and moral flip-flopping. He’s not just failing to steer the ship; he’s drilling holes in the hull and heading for the rocks while pretending that he's doing a fine job. Luxon is a walking case study in why corporate hierarchy doesn’t translate well to principled political leadership. His tenure is a parade of gaffes and moral missteps that prove he’s unfit to lead Aotearoa through its challenges. This great country deserves a leader with substance, not a CEO cosplaying as a statesman. It’s time for Luxon to exit stage right…before he does any more damage.
