Following the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Labour government will select its new leader, and the country’s next prime minister, in the coming days. There will then be a general election on the 14 October. And with Ardern’s departure the spotlight is already beginning to shine on Christopher Luxon, the head of National, New Zealand’s main opposition party.
For some time, National has shuffled through a succession of leaders. In the shadow of Jacinda Ardern’s incandescent profile the party has lacked relevance, especially during the domestic trauma of a mosque shooting, and then international crisis of a pandemic. In New Zealand, leaders of the opposition struggle to gain traction at the best of times, and no amount of image consultants, shadow front bench re-jigging, hair dye, publicity stunts, listening tours, reboots or professing to be ‘not phased by the polls,’ can change things much.
National have had a series of leaders who have failed to make their mark.
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