Tepo Seliro Lan Sumeleh

This victory should be examined from a macro perspective: beyond political promises and compared to past politics and elections.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Tepo Seliro Lan Sumeleh

HERYUNANTO

Jean Couteau

Indonesia has recently passed a peaceful examination: the general election. According to preliminary calculation, the result is without a doubt: Prabowo-Gibran will win. In our opinion, this victory should be studied at the macro level: beyond its political promises and in comparison to past political life and elections, what is the significance of this presidential election?

The era of ideology, particularly radical ideology, has passed. First, the theory of class conflict and the idea of revolution in responding to social conflict has disappeared from the political sphere, simply swallowed by history; no longer used as a political reference, whether positively or negatively.

Secondly, the theory of absolute religious truth has also disappeared from political discourse. This is the result of decisions that banned Islamic movements such as Hizbut Tahrir and FPI (in 2017 and 2021).

As a result of the disappearance of radical concepts such as social revolution and the Islamic State/caliphate, the party's political ideological spectrum narrowed drastically. The differences between the parties are nuanced only: between those advocating soft religionization of everyday life at one end and those advocating soft nationalism at the other. Everything is within the framework of a market economic system (market economy), aka a capitalistic system whose validity is no longer questioned, either in the name of historical law or in the name of religious law.

As a result, almost all parties have the potential to work together and form a coalition under the single umbrella of Pancasila.

However, the weakening of the ideology above means a relative weakening of the position of the party as an institution compared to the positions of the figures who participate in the party. These parties no longer offer a worldview, clear programs, let alone a structured ideology beyond general ideas. Therefore, it is no longer the party that colours politicians with its unique ideological colour like before, but rather a certain charismatic politician who forms and leads the party towards his desired direction.

The political clientele is no longer centered around programs/ideologies, but around the elected figures. However, the chosen political figures are based on real achievements (such as Jokowi) or promises of future achievements.

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Ganjar appears more as an official of a party under Megawati's leadership than as a political figure with a clear personality. So, even though Mahfud's character was imbued with it, he still failed to win the majority of votes in the election. Anies is more assertive in appearance. However, it was Prabowo who from the start appeared the most assertive and energetic. Not just as an officer of the Gerindra Party, but on the contrary, with the party as a vehicle for himself and his ideas. Imbued with Jokowi's image through Gibran, Prabowo's reputation is getting better in the presidential election.

In the current pragmatic and interpersonal atmosphere, the question is whether Jokowi's charisma, embodied by Gibran, will continue to accompany and overshadow Prabowo. It is possible, since their relationship is "free," non-ideological, and outside of the comfort of party life.

If that is the case, there is a high likelihood that the political partnership between Prabowo and Gibran will remain strong and productive. However, it could also fail. There are many obstacles to consider: What will Gibran's attitude be? Can Prabowo work hard "like Jokowi"?

There are political factors, and there are also legal factors. It is interesting. There is already a phenomenon that political fights, in criticizing the ruling politicians, will increasingly take on a procedural-legal nature in the future. There are already signs of it.

Criticism through the law has been increasingly prominent for the past three months. More than just criticism of the policies themselves, legal criticism appears to be brought to the forefront and enlivens political life.

The authorities may later regard this as a personal attack. You can also, if you are wise enough, see it as a learning process, for yourself and for Indonesian democracy. ”Tepo seliro lan sumeleh”, say the Javanese.

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