New Zealand PM Luxon Calls Caucus Meeting to Confront Leadership Questions

WELLINGTON, Aug. 11—New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called an urgent meeting of his National Party caucus for Wednesday to address mounting speculation about his leadership.

The caucus will convene in Wellington at 9:30 a.m. local time Wednesday, Aug. 12—2130 GMT Tuesday.

Luxon acknowledged the situation in a post on X, saying "increased speculation about my leadership" had emerged from media reports and private conversations. He said he intended to confront the issue directly.

The meeting comes months after Luxon faced a similar challenge. On April 21, he called a confidence vote among National Party members, saying he did so "to put that media speculation to rest."

Afterward, Luxon said his caucus had "answered clearly and decisively" and "backed my leadership." He did not say whether the vote was unanimous.

Deputy leader Nicola Willis later confirmed the April vote was a secret ballot, saying only scrutineers knew the final tally but that Luxon had received a majority.

Unconfirmed reports put the April split at 27 votes to 22. Luxon publicly dismissed those figures.