Indonesia’s President Widodo: A disenchanted bearer of hope?

This week’s elections end Indonesia’s President Widodo’s 10-year term in office. The progressive hopeful once seemed to bring a breath of fresh air into politics. But what happened to it?

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo comes from a humble background. He used to like to show reporters the small cabin next to a river where he grew up. The former furniture dealer and Metallica fan is the first president of the giant country who does not come from the country’s political elite or powerful military.

When he was elected president in 2014, the charismatic political outsider was a beacon of hope for many people. Widodo wanted to modernize Indonesia, promising economic growth, less poverty and corruption – a political system that serves the people and not the powerful.

Successes in business

And Widodo can claim success. Around five percent economic growth per year, less poverty, rising incomes. For his entire almost ten-year term in office, he has been focused on infrastructure projects – and good at wooing investors. He is constantly opening new airports, roads and bridges. He recently inaugurated Indonesia’s first high-speed train, the product of a cooperation with China.

Widodo believes that better infrastructure reduces inequality. In a speech in 2018, he explained that he wanted to unite the huge nation, which consists of around 17,000 islands, in this way. He also took care of projects in remote rural regions that had been neglected by his predecessors.

Widodo’s pet project is the construction of a new capital. Jakarta is bursting at the seams and is sinking several centimeters every year due to its own weight and rising sea levels. The new capital Nusantara on the island of Borneo is intended to be sustainable and modern. The presidential palace is scheduled to be inaugurated this year and the first ministries will move. Critics believe the plan is unrealistic and would rather see the billions invested differently.

Still very popular

Jokowi, as the president is known in Indonesia, is ambitious. His popularity among the population remains high today – with approval ratings of around 70 percent. He is particularly celebrated for his nickel export ban, says Denis Suarsana from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Jakarta. “The nickel strategy is an absolute hit, which Widodo also uses in some populist ways.”

In 2020, the president banned the export of unprocessed nickel ores with the aim of keeping the raw material in the country and attracting the nickel processing industry to strengthen the economy and create jobs. The goal: Indonesia should be among the five largest economies in the world by 2045. With almost 280 million inhabitants, Indonesia has the fourth largest population and the third largest democracy in the world.

Weakening of democracy

Critics say that Widodo has changed in his second term in office. He further strengthened the economy, but weakened democracy. Instead of continuing to fight corruption, Widodo weakened the anti-corruption agency. At the end of 2022, parliament passed stricter criminal law that, according to human rights activists, will further restrict freedom of expression. Amnesty International criticizes that it has Islamist and conservative-authoritarian traits. Criticism of the president, blasphemy or sex outside of marriage will be punishable from 2025.

In addition, the man from a humble background increasingly became part of the elite. He is accused of building his own family dynasty. Widodo’s sons and family members are now also pushing into politics. The most prominent case is his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming, who is running for vice president in the upcoming election. He is 36 years old and actually four years too young for the position. Shortly before the nomination deadline for candidates, he wants to obtain an exception from the Constitutional Court.

Spicy detail: The presiding judge is Widodo’s brother-in-law – and lowers the age limit for Widodo’s son because he already holds a high political office. Gibran is currently, like his father, mayor of Surakarta. The Ethics Council of the Constitutional Court later removed the presiding judge from office, but the decision stands: Widodo’s son is allowed to run.

This step comes as no surprise to Suarsana from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Powerful family dynasties have a tradition in Indonesia. He does not see this as a threat to democracy itself, but to the separation of powers.

Great concentration of power

In recent years, a lot of power has been concentrated in Widodo’s hands, says Abdul Gaffar Karim, professor of political science at the University of Yogyakarta: “Widodo controls everything. He manipulates the opposition in an elegant way.” He calms down his opponents by accommodating them and including them. “He uses the carrot more than the stick to control his opponents.”

The best example is the current presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. He and Widodo were opponents in the 2014 and 2019 election campaigns. Then the president made him defense minister, and they are now close allies – and his son is running for vice president alongside Subianto. In this way, Widodo is trying to secure his position and power, observers say. He himself is prohibited by the constitution from running for a third term. When he briefly tried to get around this, the criticism was so great that he dropped the idea.

Companions describe Widodo as impulsive and impatient, acting instinctively and stubborn. Once he has decided on something, it is very difficult to change his mind. But the majority of voters are still satisfied with Joko Widodo and want the next president to continue his policies. Whoever wins the election on February 14th, no real policy change is expected. So far, all candidates have promised to continue Widodo’s successful economic course.