What happened when Chris Penk tried to take over from Christopher Luxon
National MP Erica Stanford has publicly backed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, two days after he survived an attempt to replace him as leader.
The challenge came from Defence Minister Chris Penk at a crisis meeting of National MPs in Parliament on Wednesday 12 August. The meeting lasted three hours. Luxon won a vote of confidence, meaning his fellow National MPs confirmed they still wanted him as leader RNZ.
In a statement to RNZ on 13 August, Stanford said the prime minister continued to have her full support "as he always has". She also said the National team of MPs was "100 percent united" behind Luxon RNZ.
It was Stanford's first public comment since the meeting. She had stood behind Luxon as he told media he had won the vote RNZ.
But that show of support followed a telling silence. The evening before the meeting, Stanford was approached by reporters at Wellington airport. She repeatedly refused to say whether she still had confidence in Luxon RNZ.
Penk was sacked from Cabinet — the group of senior ministers who lead government departments — and lost all his responsibilities after the failed attempt NZ Herald. Luxon confirmed that Penk's challenge had led to the confidence vote, which Luxon won NZ Herald. It was the second time Luxon had faced a challenge to his leadership as prime minister The Guardian.
Penk has been publicly blamed as the only person behind the attempt. But National sources have also linked Stanford to it RNZ.
Political commentator Janet Wilson told RNZ's Morning Report that Penk was the "fall guy" — the person taking the blame while others stayed hidden. She said senior ministers were involved, and that she had heard Chris Bishop was "somewhere in there trying to manoeuvre" RNZ.
Bishop rejected any suggestion he was involved. He said Penk acted alone and was "working for himself". Bishop also said it would become clear in due course whether the fallout would affect National's chances at the next election RNZ.
Other National MPs moved quickly to show their support. MP Nancy Lu publicly said she was "absolutely, 100%" backing Luxon The Spinoff.
The broader picture is that National MPs are publicly closing ranks, but the question of who else was involved remains unanswered. Penk has been sacked, while Stanford, who sources say was connected to the attempt, still has her job. Her silence at the airport the night before the vote, followed by a written statement of support afterwards, is a contrast worth noting. Wilson's claim that senior ministers were involved also goes unaddressed by Bishop, who only denied his own involvement.
Luxon now has to hold together a team he says is fully united, while commentators and sources suggest more people were involved than the official story admits. The election is approaching, and Bishop himself has said the political damage is an open question.
