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PDI-P tones down tough rhetoric against Jokowi
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is changing its tune on its tough rhetoric against prominent member President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo after the nation’s largest party’s popularity was overtaken by a rival camp that has cast itself as the champion of continuity.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (left), Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri (center) and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo attend the party's national meeting in South Jakarta on June 6, 2023. (The Jakarta Post/Antara)
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is changing its tune on its tough rhetoric against prominent member President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo after the nation’s largest party’s popularity took a dip and was overtaken by a rival camp that has cast itself as the champion of continuity.
Since Jokowi let his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka run on the PDI-P rival’s ticket as running mate to frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, the party has gone on the offensive against the wildly popular outgoing President.
The PDI-P, however, now appears to be singing a different tune as it painted Jokowi’s perceived politically charged work visit to Central Java as the President’s way of still supporting his fellow party member and presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, who is a former governor of the province. Central Java is one of the PDI-P’s strongholds and a key source of votes for Jokowi in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, when he ran with the support of the party.
“Pak Jokowi was helping Pak Ganjar,” PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said on Saturday, when asked by reporters about the pledge Jokowi made earlier last week in front of farmers in Central Java that he would improve subsidized fertilizer programs to boost rice production.
The threat of a fertilizer shortage has exacerbated food security concerns and Ganjar’s handling of fertilizer during his tenure as governor of the country’s top rice producer Central Java was raised in the first presidential debate by rival Prabowo, who said that local farmers had been complaining about mismanagement.
Nearing the end of his presidency, Jokowi toured several regions of his traditional bases, including Central Java and East Java, last week in blusukan mode, a popular byword for his signature in-person, impromptu visits to the people that propelled him to the country’s highest office. There, he met with locals and distributed social aid.
