Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto sheds strongman image as he guns for top job by being ‘Jokowi’s man’
- The ex-general has worked to rebrand himself since losing twice, taking a softer tact in speeches and connecting with younger voters on social media
- Prabowo has said if elected he’d continue the policies of the Widodo, who remains popular and is widely considered the kingmaker of the 2024 polls
With recent public opinion polls pointing to Prabowo as a front runner, this might be the 71-year-old defence minister’s best chance to finally seize the top job.
But in his way stands the younger, arguably more charismatic, Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, the candidate of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as well as Anies Baswedan, the former Jakarta governor backed by Indonesia’s influential Islamic parties.
A survey published earlier this month by pollster Lingkaran Survei Indonesia showed Prabowo in the lead with a 34.3 per cent approval rating, gaining ground after months of consistently placing behind Ganjar, who received 32.7 per cent of the vote. Anies remained in third place with 22.1 per cent.
But how did Prabowo, after two failed presidential bids, make his way to the top of opinion polls?
Experts suggest the former military general has worked to rebrand himself, shifting away from his former strongman persona by taking a softer tact in his speeches and using an impressive social media campaign to connect with younger voters.
