It nominated Ganjar Pranowo - a seasoned PDI-P cadre - as its presidential candidate before backtracking and signalling support for the campaign of Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto. PSI failed to pass the 4 per cent national parliamentary threshold in 2019, but was rewarded for its loyalty to Jokowi with the appointment of a PSI member as a deputy minister. The choice of PSI over PDI-P as Kaesang’s political vehicle merits attention. In this context, Gibran’s nomination for the vice presidency would also be critical in efforts to maintain Jokowi’s political dynasty. Jokowi needs to preserve his family’s legacy, particularly given unfinished businesses such as moving the country’s capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan. Nine years after his election, Jokowi has exceeded them by becoming the only president with two members of his family - Gibran and son-in-law Bobby Nasution - respectively serving as mayors of the cities of Surakarta and Medan. Unlike former presidents Megawati and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, of the Democratic Party, Jokowi did not own his own political party but was merely a party official when he became Indonesia’s seventh president in 2014. His ambitions to maintain his influence after 2024 may be jeopardised if he relies only on PDI-P, which ultimately belongs to the Soekarno clan centred around former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. Kaesang’s ascendancy is crucial because Jokowi does not control the PDI-P party to which he and Gibran are affiliated. Dynastic politics necessitates meticulous succession planning, and Kaesang’s accession and the Court’s ruling are necessary steps towards achieving this objective. The appointment of Kaesang as PSI chairman - and the increasing possibility of Gibran being appointed as Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto’s running mate following the Court’s decision - can be seen as part of a plan to keep the Jokowi dynasty in a position of influence after 2024. These twin events mark the emergence of a Jokowi dynasty, as the president prepares to leave office in 2024. The Court’s ruling paves the way for President Jokowi’s eldest son, the 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run in the 2024 presidential elections. Less than three weeks later, the Indonesian public was again shocked by a Constitutional Court decision to exempt candidates with experience as elected officials from a legal rule barring those under 40 from competing in presidential elections. Kaesang’s ascendancy to PSI’s leadership caps what is probably the fastest political rise ever seen in Indonesian politics for someone who is not the founder of a political party. Just three days after he became a member of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) in September 2023, Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, was appointed the party’s chairman. Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the PacificĪuthor: Yoes C Kenawas, Institute for Advanced Research, Atma Jaya Catholic University
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