Indonesia election: Jokowi teases ‘brave, gutsy’ Ganjar Pranowo as successor, as Prabowo goes off script
- Outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo hasn’t formally endorsed a successor yet, but he’s not been shy about dropping hints
- His vote already looked to be going to Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo Subianto’s loose lips on a Ukraine peace plan may only have hardened his resolve
As Widodo, 61, draws to the end of his second and final five-year term, his remarks last week during a meeting of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), suggested to many that he has anointed his political heir.
“A future leader [should be] like Mr. Ganjar Pranowo, the most important thing [a leader should have] is courage, [they should have] bravery and guts. I can see that Ganjar has that quality,” Widodo said on Tuesday.
February’s election will be held in the wake of a pandemic that has tugged on Indonesia’s hopes of becoming a “high income” nation by 2045 and spurred a global inflation crisis that has made life more expensive for many in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Experts say the polls will pivot on economic conditions, Jokowi’s enduring star power and the ability of the presidential candidates to weave their narrative of Indonesia’s future to 205 million eligible voters.
