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Jokowi, Prabowo flaunt warm exchanges amid rift speculation
Outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s apparent friendly interactions with president-elect Prabowo Subianto during last week's iftar dinner may help defuse speculation about tensions between them, but questions remain over what the future holds for the two unlikely allies.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (center) awards Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) the rank of honorary four-star general in Jakarta on Feb. 28, 2024. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
Outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s apparent friendly interaction with president-elect Prabowo Subianto during last week's iftar dinner may help defuse speculation about tensions between them, but questions remain over what the future holds for the two unlikely allies.
Jokowi hosted an iftar dinner on Thursday at the Presidential Palace to mark the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the daylight hours. Among his guests were cabinet members.
The evening marked the last time Jokowi, who rose to the nation’s top post from humble beginnings as a political outsider, will host the annual tradition at the Presidential Palace before he leaves office in October.
Sharing the table with Jokowi that evening was his incoming successor Prabowo, the defense minister and Gerindra Party chairman, who ran in February’s election with Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka on his ticket and who won a landslide victory.
Jokowi and Prabowo were seen chatting chummily with other guests at the table, including Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto who sat between them. Airlangga also chairs Golkar, the oldest party in the country.
“Pak Prabowo and Pak Jokowi are united. Do not pit them against each other,” Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, who also leads the largest network of Jokowi’s supporters, told reporters after the event when asked about the moment.
The seemingly warm interactions came after a series of awkward incidents between Jokowi and Prabowo made headlines earlier this month, prompting the public and political commentators to speculate about a potential rift between the two figures after the election.
