Cashing in
Jokowi’s second reshuffle is a win for the president’s loyalists and financiers.
Political campaign financing in contemporary Indonesia is neither transparent nor accountable. State subsidisation of political parties is negligible, and candidates must typically accrue large private funds in order to remain competitive in increasingly slick and expensive electoral contests. The imperatives of campaign fundraising even apply to a popular incumbent president like Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
The past week has seen plenty of commentary on Jokowi’s second cabinet reshuffle, much of it focused on the appointment of the controversial retired general Wiranto as Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, and widespread changes to the government’s economic team.
Read Cashing in by Tom Power published in New Mandala.
