Indonesia’s New Economic Model
This article is for subscribers only.
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia’s most-promisingpolitician, Joko Widodo, who was elected governor of Jakartaprovince last month, looks like Barack Obama: lean and coollyself-possessed in a way that seems as much Bogartian asJavanese. Emerging out of nowhere, and serenely vaulting overthe heads of establishment politicians, he embodies thepossibility of change. But here the resemblance to the U.S.president ends.
Obama is fighting to win re-election. Jokowi, as Widodo ispopularly known, enjoyed hugely successful terms in office asthe mayor of the Central Javanese city of Solo. Fulfilling mostof his promises, he was re-elected with a voting percentage --90 percent -- more often enjoyed by dictators in the CentralAsian “stans.”