Indonesia’s Widodo backs son’s party for 2029 election with political tour
Joko Widodo wants to boost the appeal of the Indonesian Solidarity Party and signal his continuous relevance, analysts say
Widodo kicked off the tour in Lampung on Friday, using the visit to appear alongside Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) officials and accept a local royal title, signalling that he remains a force in Indonesian politics even after leaving office.
He appeared dressed in the colours of PSI – a youth-oriented party founded in 2014 and now chaired by his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep – to attend its local congress.
Unofficially, analysts say Widodo was there to throw his weight behind PSI and keep himself politically relevant.
“Jokowi clearly has concluded that it is time to develop PSI into a credible political force,” said Marcus Mietzner, an Indonesia specialist at the Australian National University and author of Ruling Indonesia, a recently released biography of the former president who is popularly known as Jokowi.
When Widodo left office in October 2024, he had an approval rating of 75 per cent according to a survey published that month by local pollster Indikator Politik.
PSI has sought to cast itself as a fresh, progressive alternative to Indonesia’s existing political parties, but has so far struggled to win electoral support.