National on brink of another 'Hunger Games' phase, staff unsettled - sources
Friday, 17 April 2026
The National Party could be heading into another “Hunger Games” phase, according to one source in the Beehive.
The Post understands staffers are feeling very unsettled and uncomfortable, off the back of fresh speculation surrounding Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s leadership.
Luxon is under pressure as a result of a string of poor polls, though any move to remove him as leader would require some serious nerve - on top of the numbers - given the party’s bloody leadership history.
The NZ Herald has reported National whip Stuart Smith tried - and failed - to tell Luxon bad news about caucus support before Easter, citing party sources.
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Taking questions from reporters this afternoon, Luxon denied avoiding Smith.
“I was with Stuart all day Tuesday and it was not raised.”
Luxon told media he had the “full support” of his caucus.
A Beehive source agreed the party was now heading into a “Hunger Games’” phase of Luxon’s leadership. “Fully. That’s exactly the phase we’re now in.”
“There are two or three real agitators that would be quite happy to take this to a bloody confidence vote but those who've got political experience know that’s a death wish. So they’re quite keen to stack things up and have quite a clear transition.”
They had it on good authority Smith’s message to Luxon was that “he was losing the support of caucus”, the source said.
“Someone had raised serious concerns about his confidence and Stuart Smith tried to alert him to that and he refused to see him.”
There would be “non-stop phone calls” over the weekend as Parliament prepared to sit again after a two week recess, they said.
Another poll on Thursday reported support for National remained below 30% and Luxon’s personal popularity continues to flag.
Despite speculation Luxon’s leadership is under threat, it’s understood the feeling among the prime minister’s allies is that this can be attributed to disaffected actors and there’s “no drama” to see here.
“People are getting pretty fed up with the whispers,” a separate Beehive source told The Post.
Senior National Minister Chris Bishop - previously speculated to be a frontrunner as Luxon’s replacement - told Newstalk ZB he was not plotting anything.
“There's no coup happening,” Bishop said on Friday morning. “Every now and then articles like that appear. It's untidy and unhelpful.”