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ver the weekend, memes relating President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to the popular TV series Game of Thrones made the rounds on social media, putting him in the spotlight once again. Some of the most popular memes included edited photos of Jokowi sitting on the Iron Throne, the seat of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms in the fictional universe of Westeros.

The memes began circulating online after the President used the Emmy-winning series as a reference to describe the escalating tensions caused by global trade disputes during the recent International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bali.

Jokowi appeared to ride high on the euphoria as he repeated the references on Monday, saying the message in last week’s speech was also relevant in the Indonesian context of political contestation in the upcoming elections.

“Now that we have entered the year of politics [..] the moral of the story is also suitable to be delivered for the people, leaders of the nation and especially [political] elites who fight for their own interests,” Jokowi said during the 65th Dies Natalis of the Indonesia Christian University (UKI) in Jakarta.

While acknowledging that political contestation revolved around competitions and rivalries, Jokowi, who is seeking reelection next year, said that contestation must not damage or sacrifice the nation’s social and political foundations, such as stability, security, tolerance and unity.

During his speech at the IMF-WB meeting last week, Jokowi said that “fighting among the ‘great houses’ is distracting them from the threat of an ‘evil winter’”, and that victory or defeat in war always brought about the same result: destruction.

“One must not do harm only to secure a victory because there is no meaning in becoming a winner when it is celebrated amid destruction,” Jokowi said in Monday’s speech.

It was not the first time Jokowi has dropped pop culture references before an international audience, including foreign leaders and ministers.

During his speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Hanoi, Vietnam, in September, Jokowi compared the state of the world’s economy to the Marvel blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, insisting that intense ongoing trade wars must not become an Infinity War.

Presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said that Jokowi often proposed ideas for inserting metaphors into his speeches, which were later discussed with and translated by his aides.

For the speech that made references to Game of Thrones and Avengers, Johan said that the President was assisted by State Secretary Pratikno and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Lembong.

“Pak Jokowi tried to deliver the message in a trendy way,” Johan told The Jakarta Post. “The fight for the Iron Throne is only an analogy, but the most important thing is that the message was well-delivered for the world.”

He also used another popular gimmick during the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, during which a stuntman appearing to be the President entered the arena on a motorbike, stealing the limelight at the highly praised show.

Political communication experts have said using such gimmicks may also be an effective strategy to cater to middle to upper class voters, a group of voters that was traditionally not part of his base.

Pelita Harapan University political analyst Emrus Sihombing said that using such “high-context culture” showed that Jokowi presented himself to be on the same level as other international leaders and that it could improve his electability.

Kuskridho Ambardi, a political communication expert from the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM), said that Jokowi’s speeches could attract educated, young and middle to upper class voters, however, he warned the President might need to work on his domestic political communication more as some Indonesians held negative sentiments against anything foreign.

“Groups such as the Muslim community, expect different idioms [..] the message must be delivered in languages that the public can relate to,” he said.