The Front Page: How will the battle between Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins play out?

Labour's Chris Hipkins and National's Christopher Luxon. Photos / NZME

The 2023 election will see two men named Christopher battle it out to form the next government in New Zealand. Chris Hipkins has succeeded Jacinda Ardern following her resignation, setting up a showdown against National leader Christopher Luxon. Hipkins might be new to the Labour leadership but the 44-year-old certainly isn’t a political amateur.

“Hipkins entered Parliament in 2008, so he was there all through Labour’s dire years in opposition,” Herald political editor Claire Trevett tells The Front Page podcast.

“He’s been one of Ardern’s most competent Ministers. When there’s a problem he more or less gets called on to sort it out. He’s no-nonsense.”

So how will he measure up against Luxon, who has only spent about three years in politics?

“The battle of the Chrises has potential to be a little bit boring,” says Trevett.

“I think it will be a relatively civil, issues-focused campaign. They are both focusing on the same areas, and voters will be left to choose which prescription they like.”

Trevett argues that the next election will not be fought on the basis of personality.

“It’s less about the person now,” she says.

“There was a lot of personalisation around Jacinda Ardern, whether you liked her or didn’t like her, whereas people are a bit more neutral about the two Chrises.” An advantage that Hipkins has over Luxon is that the public became quite familiar with him during Covid-19, when he became the pandemic spokesperson.

“One of National’s problems is that Christopher Luxon isn’t actually that well known and people have reserved their judgment about him,” Trevett says.

“This is possibly why the party hasn’t picked up so much from Labour’s drop in the polls. People are still making up their minds about Luxon.”

That said, Hipkins still has a tough road ahead in terms of convincing the public that the party is the best option to lead the nation through the tough economic times ahead.

So what policies will Hipkins focus on? Does this mark the end of Jacinda Ardern’s politics of kindness? Will Labour be forced to move more to the right on the big economic questions? And does Hipkins have what it takes to lead Labour to victory in the next election?

Listen to this episode of The Front Page podcast to hear Trevett’s full analysis.