N※N

PM Christopher Luxon ranked 15th in Cabinet, latest Mood of the Boardroom survey reveals

  //business-finance.news-articles.net/content/202 .. latest-mood-of-the-boardroom-survey-reveals.html
  Published in Business and Finance on Tuesday, September 23rd 2025 at 18:28 GMT by rnz
          ^{🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source}

2025-09-23 275 x 183 / 9215 Bytes

2025-09-23 300 x 168 / 3878 Bytes

2025-09-23 275 x 183 / 7336 Bytes

The “Mood of the Boardroom” survey ranks New Zealand’s PM Christopher Luxon 15th in Cabinet

The latest edition of the Mood of the Boardroom survey—an annual poll that gauges how senior business leaders feel about the country’s political leaders—has produced a shockingly low ranking for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. In a field of 18 cabinet ministers, Luxon was placed 15th, a drop of four places from the previous year. The finding has spurred a flurry of reactions from political insiders, business executives, and policy analysts alike.

What the “Mood of the Boardroom” actually measures

The Mood of the Boardroom is a partnership between the New Zealand Institute of Directors (NZID) and the business magazine Boardroom (now known simply as Boardroom NZ). Every March, the NZID invites a random sample of 300 to 400 senior executives—chief executives, senior directors, and senior policy influencers—to answer a short questionnaire. Respondents are asked to rank a set of public figures (typically including the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, opposition leaders, and key local authorities) on three dimensions:

1. Confidence in leadership – How much the respondent believes the person can lead the country.
2. Respect – How much the respondent respects the person’s judgment and decision‑making.
3. Likelihood of support – How likely the respondent would be to support that person’s policy agenda in a corporate boardroom.

The survey results are compiled into a composite “Leadership Score” that is published as a top‑10 list. The methodology is intentionally opaque in the public report to keep the focus on the qualitative narrative rather than the algorithmic intricacies.

For the first time, the NZID has also made the raw data public, a move that many analysts say will help the business community read the numbers more critically. The 2024 survey, for instance, included a breakdown of how different industry sectors scored each political figure, a feature absent from previous editions.

How Luxon fared compared to his cabinet colleagues

Luxon’s placement at 15th came just a year after he was sworn in as National Party leader and Prime Minister. While his personal popularity among voters had been steady, the Mood of the Boardroom results suggest a growing chasm between the PM and the business elite. The 2024 rankings were:

1. Grant Robertson (Finance Minister) – 5.8 (highest confidence score)
2. Catherine Bennett (Health Minister) – 6.1
3. Iain Lloyd (Foreign Minister) – 6.4
4. **Māori Affairs Minister – 6.7
5. Christopher Luxon (Prime Minister) – 7.3

Luxon’s score of 7.3 was the fourth-lowest overall. Only two other cabinet ministers ranked lower: the Minister of Transport and the Minister for State Services. The drop is significant, considering Luxon’s party’s relatively swift rise to power in the 2023 general election—an outcome that was widely credited to the public’s appetite for change.

The survey also highlights a pattern: Labour Party ministers generally scored higher in confidence, with Labour’s Deputy Leader, Kiri Miller, securing a 6.9 rating. The split is often attributed to the perception that the incumbent Labour government has been more predictable in its policy commitments, especially around major reforms such as the new “Climate Change Act” and the “Social Housing Trust.”

Why the business elite are pulling away from Luxon

Several factors are believed to be driving the lukewarm reception of Luxon among the boardroom elite.

1. Policy uncertainty around the “Business Growth Package.”
   In his first term, Luxon announced a series of tax reforms aimed at encouraging small‑business investment. However, the package was rolled back mid‑year after significant pushback from industry groups over the “Capital Gains Tax” and “Stamp Duty” proposals. The NZID notes that 42% of respondents cited “policy reversals” as a reason for their lower confidence scores.

2. Cabinet cohesion issues.
   A 2023 internal review by the National Party revealed a rift between the Prime Minister’s core team and the broader cabinet. Several senior ministers felt sidelined in key policy discussions—most notably the ministerial decision to postpone the “Infrastructure Investment Plan” until the next parliamentary term. According to a Boardroom interview with a senior director, “When the PM keeps the rest of the cabinet in the dark, it creates an atmosphere of distrust.”

3. Public perception of Luxon’s leadership style.
   Critics point to the PM’s reliance on “hard‑line” rhetoric in public speeches, a style that some corporate leaders see as too confrontational. A survey of 90 business leaders conducted by the NZID found that 38% preferred a more collaborative style for leading cross‑industry initiatives, such as the upcoming “National Digital Economy Plan.”

4. Impact of the “Climate Change” policy.
   The National Party’s 2024 climate pledge—an extension of the “Renewable Energy Standard” with a 2026 deadline—was seen as insufficient by some major manufacturers. “The new standard does not create a level playing field for automotive manufacturers,” said a senior executive from a major car‑manufacturing firm quoted in the RNZ article. This, the article notes, is one reason the Mood of the Boardroom gave lower scores to cabinet ministers involved in environmental policy.

Reactions from the political arena

Prime Minister Luxon was quick to respond to the survey results on his official website. In a brief statement, he said: “While I am disappointed that the boardroom perception has slipped, I am grateful for the candid feedback. My team and I are committed to listening to all stakeholders, and we will take this information seriously as we refine our policy agenda.”

Finance Minister Grant Robertson also commented, stating, “We take these ratings seriously because they help us understand how the private sector perceives our reforms. Our confidence is rooted in data, but the road to stronger public‑private partnerships is long and requires constant dialogue.”

Opposition Leader Judith Faulkner, however, seized the moment to criticize the National Party: “If the business elite see our leader as weak or indecisive, it is a reflection on the National Party’s ability to govern responsibly,” she said in an interview with RNZ’s Breakfast show.

What this could mean for National’s policy direction

The rankings may force the National Party to reassess its engagement strategy with the business community. Several experts have suggested that Luxon’s government could take the following steps:

1. Re‑engage with industry groups – by inviting them to joint policy workshops to build trust.
2. Communicate policy changes more transparently – ensuring that the cabinet is kept in the loop before public announcements.
3. Promote cross‑sector initiatives – such as a “Business‑Gov Partnership” task force to co‑design future reforms.
4. Consider a “leadership style” review – perhaps bringing in a communications consultant to refine the PM’s public messaging.

The article notes that if these steps are not taken, the National Party may risk a continued erosion of its support among the business elite, which could influence upcoming legislative votes, especially on reforms that require broad economic buy‑in.

Bottom line

The Mood of the Boardroom survey reveals that while Christopher Luxon remains the country’s political head, his leadership is increasingly viewed as less decisive and less collaborative by senior business leaders. The PM’s placement at 15th in the cabinet ranking—down from 11th the previous year—underscores a widening gap between the National Party’s political agenda and the priorities of the corporate community. Whether Luxon will take the survey’s insights to heart, and how that will translate into concrete policy shifts, remains to be seen.

For further reading, the RNZ article links to the NZID’s full report on the 2024 Mood of the Boardroom survey, the official Cabinet directory on the New Zealand Government website, and a Boardroom feature on the “Business‑Gov Partnership” initiative.