[COMMENTARY] Jokowi is smarter than SBY in building political dynasty

Kornelius Purba
The Jakarta Post

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Jakarta / Wed, February 17, 2021 / 01:36 am

[COMMENTARY] Jokowi is smarter than SBY in building political dynasty

Mayoral candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka (left) and his running mate Teguh Prakosa wave to supporters during a press conference at the Surakarta, Central Java, office of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Dec. 9. A quick count shows the pair won 85 percent of the vote in the recent local election. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)

While President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will soon watch his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka and son-in-law Bobby Nasution assume office as the mayors of Surakarta in Central Java and Medan in North Sumatra, his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has to witness his retired army major son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono struggling to defend his Democratic Party chairmanship against an alleged “coup attempt”. What will be your conclusion about Jokowi and SBY in preparing the political future of their children, especially when you relate it with the 2024 simultaneous elections that will include the presidential election? I think neither Gibran nor Bobby will directly follow in Jokowi’s footsteps, while SBY’s son stands little chance of fulfilling his father’s ambition. Of the seven presidents Indonesia has ever had, founding president Sukarno proved...