New Zealand's ruling party meets to decide PM Luxon's fate

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's fate hung in the balance on Wednesday as his ruling National Party met to decide whether he should stay on as leader with less than three months until a general election.

Luxon has led New Zealand since 2023 but has been unable to reverse his party's slide in the polls and survived a confidence vote in April.

He called the emergency meeting on Tuesday after media reported growing speculation that his leadership was no longer tenable.

"It is my firm belief that division and disunity are a major distraction only 90 days out from the election," the 56-year-old said on X.

"This issue needs to be resolved quickly."

The meeting kicked off around 9:30 am (2130 GMT on Tuesday) at Parliament House in the capital Wellington.

Ministers were tight-lipped about Luxon's fate as they entered the closed-door conclave.

Luxon made it through a leadership vote in April after reports National members were displeased with the party polling under 30 percent.

The former Air New Zealand boss led National to election victory in 2023 vowing to tame inflation and bring down interest rates.

The teetotal millionaire touted himself as a master negotiator from previous business experience.

But it took over six weeks for him to broker a three-way coalition government with populist New Zealand First and right-wing libertarian ACT, a marriage of convenience he has struggled to manage throughout his premiership.

His political savvy became a long-running concern with a series of gaffes and miscommunications, and his inability to rein in coalition partners hurt his popularity.

An example came when foreign minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters sparked an international incident last month, telling a Chinese-born lawmaker during a parliamentary debate to "go back to your own country" where "they lie like flatfish".

Beijing complained about the comments and while Luxon condemned them as offensive and racist, he did not sanction his coalition partner.

Luxon drew more ire with an attack on small-business owners, a key part of his base, saying they had a "parent-child mentality" towards the government.

And he topped off last week by calling for a referendum of New Zealand's mixed-member proportional representation, a wildly unpopular suggestion.

Polling has suggested some of Luxon's most senior ministers could be turfed out of parliament when New Zealanders vote on November 7.