Luxon says he will work with 'whoever' to secure second term

Christopher Luxon says he would work with "whoever I have to" to ensure a second term.

He made the comments while campaigning on the West Coast, The Press reported. The Post reported the same "whoever I have to" wording.

Election campaigns take leaders around the country to meet voters and answer questions in person. Questions about who a leader could work with after polling day are a regular part of those exchanges. Voters elect the MPs who make up Parliament, and a government must hold enough support there to govern.

Leaders are often asked to name the parties they could deal with to reach that point. Answers given on the trail are sometimes expressed in broad terms. Exclusions, when leaders make them, tend to be expressed directly.

His office said the "whoever" remark did not include the Opportunity Party, according to RNZ. The Press had reported Luxon saying he would work with "whoever" he had to ensure a second term.

Luxon has repeatedly ruled out working with the Opportunity Party, the Otago Daily Times reported. The office statement kept that party outside the broad phrase he had used on the West Coast.

Simeon Brown ruled out working with the Opportunity Party after Luxon appeared to rule the party in, according to the NZ Herald. Both statements excluded the party from consideration.