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Cabinet reshuffle in the cards as Jokowi summons ministers
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo summoned a number of Cabinet ministers and played host to several political party leaders on Tuesday, leading pundits to believe a reshuffle was imminent.
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo (centre left) and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin (centre right) walk hand-in-hand prior to a photo session with members of their new cabinet on the steps of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on October 23, 2019. (AFP/Adek Berry)
W
hispers of an impending Cabinet reshuffle grew louder on Tuesday as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo summoned a parade of ministers and senior politicians to the Presidential Palace in what is expected to culminate in the final changing of the guard in his second term in office.
The government has for some time been laying down the legal foundations for the appointment of more deputy ministers, but speculation has grown in recent days that a larger-scale reshuffle is in the works.
Palace insiders have not denied the rumors, while noting that it was Jokowi’s prerogative to appoint or dismiss ministers. The President himself told reporters “not yet” when asked last week if he was planning to shake up the Cabinet.
But a politician from the ruling coalition corroborated the possibility of a Cabinet shake-up for Wednesday.
“We heard very solid information that it is very likely that a reshuffle will be carried out,” National Mandate Party (PAN) executive and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya told reporters on Tuesday.
As the newest member of the ruling coalition, PAN is rumored to be next in line to get a Cabinet position, which Bima also confirmed.
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