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Analysis: Jokowi takes war against Megawati to Central Java, her home turf
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.Food for thought: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) receives a slice of rice cone from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri during the opening of the party’s national executive meeting in Jakarta, on June 21, 2022. (Courtesy of/Press Bureau of Presidential Secretariat)
P
resident Joko Jokowi Widodo is contemplating fielding his youngest son Kaesang Pangarep to run in the November gubernatorial election in Central Java, taking the war against his political mentor Megawati Sukarnoputri, the matron of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to the next level. Central Java has always been a PDI-P stronghold.
Jokowi has already won one battle when his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka won the presidential election in February as running mate to his defense minister Prabowo Subianto. The Prabowo-Gibran pair beat the PDI-P’s candidate former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, who ran with Jokowi’s former political minister Mahfud MD.
Building his political dynasty for Jokowi means turning his back on Megawati, who gave the ticket to him to run in the presidential races in 2014 and again 2019, both of which he won. Now as he prepares to step down in October, he is grooming his children and other relatives to run for office, taking advantage of his high approval rating in the twilight of his presidency.
The wound having hardly healed after losing one big battle to Jokowi, Megawati may already be looking at another defeat in the November local election in Central Java, where 29-year-old Kaesang looks unbeatable, at least according to several opinion surveys. The PDI-P has no strong candidate to field who can match Kaesang’s increasing popularity.
Megawati’s daughter, Puan Maharani, a senior member of the party and speaker of the House of Representatives, has indicated that the PDI-P may consider supporting Kaesang’s nomination. But Puan may have spoken out of turn. In the PDI-P, all power rests with chair Megawati.
This is turning into a personal war between Jokowi and Megawati, Indonesia’s president in 2001-2004. They were close political allies for much of the last 10 years, but drifted apart ahead of the February elections. Expect more battles between these two.
At the last the PDI-P leadership meeting in May, Megawati had some unusually harsh words about the lengths Jokowi would go to fulfill his ambitions. She ordered the party to win as many of the local elections in November as possible to strengthen the party’s political grip.
