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Ryan Bridge: Luxon's leadership is in question, yet again · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Here we go again, for at least the second time
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: this year. There's a story in the media about National
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: MP's doing the numbers on Luckxon. Thomas Coglan at The
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Herald has said that phones are ringing. At least one
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: MP has spoken. One MP does not a story make.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: But the political calculation here is that Luckxon is a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: drag on the party's polling. Changing horses midstream would not
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: hurt their chances of forming a government, but might provide
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: momentum and a boost to their share of the right
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: voting block and perhaps even some soft center. They'll be
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: tempted by the Descender transition, which saw a poll bump
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: a circuit breaker. They'll be wary of the Judith transition
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and the many Labour ones before that which proved fatal.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: But this is completely unique, this situation, as this is
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: a party in government, whoever leads it leads New Zealand.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Luxon's plea for more party votes is falling on deaf fares,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: and despite expensive advertising campaigns and glossy videos of the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: PM explaining their fiscal strategy, his comments on the campaign,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: which is underway in Earnest, are drowning out the pre
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: recorded material the last week they've been in cleanup mode.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: They can't afford to spend another three months trapesing around
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: the country with a dust pan and broom. That would
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: require either better discipline from the current leader or a
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: change to a new one, which has always been the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: fly in the ointment for national there is no just
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: cinder in waiting in the wings. Bishop and Willis are
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: well versed debaters who perform well on the campaign. However,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: kiwis like reluctant heroes and Bishop looks rightly or wrongly
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: anything but Willis's near perfect performance handling the initial fuel
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: shot proves her worth, but she may be too tied
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: to the cost of living woes that have hurt Luxen.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Erica Stanford is the candidate you'd pick if you really
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: wanted to play ball. She's denied wanting it enough, which
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: is key, and is a star performer able to connect
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: with people in a way others have proven incapable. At
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: this point, this is all just talk, but timing is
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: everything in politics, and the fact MPs are briefing g
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: an Lest twelve weeks out from early voting is destabilizing
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: in itself. Are you better to nip it in the
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Bud or Hope for Brighter Days. For more from Early
• 2:10
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• 2:13
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• 2:16
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