Mark Mitchell: National MP on Christopher Luxon surviving a second leadership challenge, Chris Penk being sacked

Mark Mitchell is sorry about the whole situation the National party caucus found itself in. 

Christopher Luxon stared down yesterday's challenge to his leadership, coming from Chris Penk. 

He's paid the political price, being stripped of his portfolios, before announcing last night he won't run for re-election in November.  

Senior colleague Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking Penk's challenge was a surprise.  

He says he considers him a friend, and he hasn't had a chance to talk to him about what he was thinking. 

Mitchell says any speculation he was involved in a challenge is false – and he was sure Luxon’s supporters were in a strong position.  

He says he was quietly confident they had the numbers and that people would realise there was no upside to a coup. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So how about the coup that wasn' day upside luckx
and survives having stared down the descent twice. Problem is
does the descent go away? And was yesterday as circuit breaker.
Mark Mitchell's back with us. Mark, very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Very much appreciate you being on the program because the
long association with the Show of Cours means you're here
and not elsewhere. So I do appreciate that and I
thank you for it. The can you just put to bed?
And I'm hesitant to ask yet again, but there are
people in the media who absolutely insist that you were
part of it in some way, that you were there
with Erica and you were going to be a deputy.

(00:31):
Were you or were you not?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
No? Absolutely not.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I was fully focused on making sure that we had
our leader emerge as.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Leader, simple as that.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
So at no point were you a contender in any way,
shape or form in a new leadership team.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Absolutely not. I was fully focused on.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
My whole focus was making sure that Chris had the
support that he needed to emerge as leader.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
I thought that it would be well.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Number one, I'm a huge supporter Beck and believer of
his and and number two, I just thought it would
be a disaster for us as a party to be
changing this close to election.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
With the benefit of hindsight. When you were talking to
us at day o'clock yesterday morning, how confident were you
you had the numbers?

Speaker 3 (01:14):
It's hard to tell. You just don't know going into
those things. I was quietly confident. I just thought that
most of the caucus realized that this was there was
no upside to what was happening, and that we'd go
and then we'd e merge with the result that we did,
and that happened, so it was great.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Can you explain how it felt if there was a
thing ever, how it fell apart so spectacularly overnight.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
I just obviously there's just never the support there for it.
So you know, it's been it has been an unnecessary
distraction for us.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
We've dealt with it.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Now, we've re emerged united behind the leader and this
is not going to happen again, and we've fully focused
on making sure that now we do we govern number one,
because we aren't coveting through some pre difficult global headwinds
at the moment as well, and number two, that we
pull together the National Party is a big, powerful campaigning
juggernaut when it gets going, and we are going to

(02:11):
get going, and we're going to remind the country that
the alternative is nine new Texas at a time when
actually Kiwis need a break from Texas and the ability
to breathe and start to rebuild.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
When you say it's not going to happen again, you
say that with what level of surety?

Speaker 3 (02:27):
One hundred and Well, I always people, what are you
one hundred and ten percent? I said, because I'm trying
to say that it's even better than one hundred percent.
So I've got absolute confidence and faith that we are
not going to be dealing with any issues like this again.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
What happened in that room yesterday to give you that confidence.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, we don't.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
I can't talk about what happens inside the Corse room.
Of course, that is confidential. It must remain in there,
and it's important that it does. But what gives me
the confidence is that we all emerged as a united
caucus with a commitment to one another, a commitment to
our party members, a commitment to our volunteers, and a
commitment to the country that we'll get behind a prime

(03:07):
minister that's been doing an outstanding job for us as
a country through difficult times and uh and make sure
that we're returned to government.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
The I don't know how to ask this because you're
not going to answer it properly. Pink was a stalking horse.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, No, I don't believe that. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I'm not going to speak. I can't so I'm not
in his mind. So I can't speak for Chris for
me because you know, I was a big supporter of
his and remain so he's a in terms of he's
a friend.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
I consider him a friend. He's a very good man.

Speaker 3 (03:42):
He's it was completely totally out of character. I haven't
had the chance to sit down and talk with him
and find out actually what was going on. He's announced
that he's leaving the party. You know, I just want
to acknowledge his his service. I mean, he's he's I
backed him to become defensive minister cabinet.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Did he deserve to get sacked?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
You can't. It's untenable.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
You cannot bring forward a challenge on the leader and
not expect there to be consequences, and the consequences of
that as you can't. You can't just turn up and
sit around the cabinet table after having tried to organize
a challenge in removing the Prime Minister.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
And you're honestly telling me that he wasn't doing the
numbers for Stamford or Bishop or both.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
No, I don't know of any evidence of that happening.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
At all evidences. Do you suspect it seems it seems
incomprehensible Mark that a bloke that most people have never
heard of thinks he can be prime minister.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I know, I understand that, and like I said
to you, for me, it was completely totally out of character.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
But I can't speak for him, and I had.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
No evidence to say that there was anything other than
the fact that he was he was bringing forward a
challenge to the Prime minister.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Your assessment of your ability, the party's ability to get
up and get on from here on in, And you're
not mortally wounded.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
No, we already are getting up and getting on without
a doubt.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
And that was the good thing about.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
We're putting a line under this now and I come
on with you, and this will be the last time
that I'm speaking about this. But no, no, we're definitely
not mortally wounded. We've quite the opposite. Were energized. We focus.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
We've got a great team.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
We've got a very strong lineup of MPs and candidates
around the country. Like I said to you, when the
National Party gets going in campaigning, we're a big, strong juggernaut.
We really get out there and our people are fantastic.
I had a volunteers meeting straight to a volunteers meeting
last night in the area surf club back home and
I had sixty volunteers waiting and the surf club to

(05:40):
They want to get out there and they want to
get campaigning.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Appreciate your time very much. Mark Benchell, Nationally MP.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
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