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Natural selection of leaders
The rise of regional leaders like Anies, Ganjar and Ridwan on the national political stage comes as fresh air amid the predominance of political elites in Jakarta.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, have coffee together at a coffee shop at the City Hall on Monday after receiving awards from Central Information Commission (KIP) for their transparency in disseminating information to the public. West Kalimantan also received an award. (The Jakarta Post/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya )
T
here is nothing odd about the sudden rise in intensity of field trips made by the three popular governors who have consistently topped opinion polls of potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election. They need to broaden their mass base now, as their terms of office – and privileges – will end later this year, or next year.
A number of leading pollsters have listed Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil among the most popular presidential candidates, who can rival big name Prabowo Subianto, the current defense minister and chairman of Gerindra, the second-largest party after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Anies was recently seen holding a dialogue with volunteers supporting his presidential nomination grouped under the banner of Relawan Jaringan Mileanis and attending the wedding of the son of Golkar Party deputy chairman Nurdin Halid in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar. South Sulawesi is a traditional stronghold of Golkar, thanks in part to the influence of eminent figures like Jusuf Kalla, former chairman of the party and the vice president in Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s first-term presidency in 2014-2019.
It is no secret that Anies has maintained a good relationship with Kalla, even after Anies was dismissed from the Cabinet in July 2016. Some have gone so far as to predict Kalla will back Anies’ bid for the presidency.
Anies has refrained from making an early declaration about joining the race, saying he will focus on his unfinished business as governor before leaving office in mid-October this year.
While Anies was in Makassar, Ganjar, who is closing in on Prabowo in the popularity stakes in several surveys, visited Pesawaran regency in Lampung to the cheers of enthusiastic locals. Lampung is a stronghold of the PDI-P, to which Ganjar belongs, however, the party is apparently torn between giving the presidential ticket to him or Puan Maharani, the daughter of the party’s matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Ridwan, meanwhile, toured East Java to visit Islamic boarding schools run by Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Muslim group. Among the presidential hopefuls, Ridwan is the only one who has explicitly announced his quest for the presidency, albeit as one of the choices in his future political career.
The government, the House of Representatives and the General Elections Commission have agreed to set the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections for Feb. 14, 2024. Prior to the national elections, all regional elections slated for this year and next year have been rescheduled to Nov. 27, 2024 as part of the electoral-system reforms.
The rise of regional leaders like Anies, Ganjar and Ridwan on the national political stage comes as fresh air amid the predominance of political elites in Jakarta. Having led their respective regions the potential candidates have been exposed to real problems facing people at the grass roots, unlike national leaders who tend to care about the forest but forget the trees.
While Indonesia has only seen this phenomenon occur once, with Jokowi in 2014, in countries like the Philippines and the United States a gubernatorial post is a common platform from which to climb to the highest office. As the old wisdom goes, those who can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.
Hopefully more regional leaders across the country will rise to this challenge in 2024 and beyond.
