The National Party's newly crowned leader Todd Muller has started off by saying he was "incredibly upbeat" about his chances in the next election – and has left a door open to reverse the decision not to engage with NZ First after the next election.

After successfully rolling Simon Bridges in a caucus Muller will now take on the task of trying to reclaim the ground National has lost in the polls over the Covid-19 crisis with just four months until the election.

Muller was elected leader after a bitter showdown with Simon Bridges, and Nikki Kaye was elected deputy to replace Paula Bennett.

TVNZ journalist Mark Crysell joins The Panel on The Weekend Collective to discuss Todd Muller becoming the new leader of the National Party, along with the other big stories making news this week.

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• Political commentators react to Todd Muller becoming National Party leader
• New National Party leader focused on NZ's economic recovery
• National's new leader: Who is Todd Muller?
• David Farrar on National leader Todd Muller's polling numbers
• Jack Tame: Todd Muller could well be our next PM