May 24, 2024
JAKARTA – The decision of Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution, who is also President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s son-in-law, to join Gerindra Party in a bid to secure his political future has prompted questions over whether the First Family will follow his move.
With his new membership in Gerindra, which is led by president-elect Prabowo Subianto, Bobby is likely to contest the North Sumatra governor seat in the upcoming November regional elections.
Bobby was the first member of Jokowi’s family to officially shift allegiance to another party after parting ways with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which had long backed the President and his family in various elections.
Relationships between Jokowi and the PDI-P have apparently deteriorated to the point of no return since Jokowi allowed his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who currently serves as Surakarta mayor, to run for vice president alongside Prabowo in the February elections.
President-elect Prabowo Subianto (left) and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka (right) walk past a portrait President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo, also father of Gibran, during the plenary meeting of General Elections Commission (KPU) announcing the 2024 presidential election winner in Jakarta on April 24, 2024. (AFP/Adek Berry)
Deepened ties
Political analyst Ujang Komarudin from Indonesia Al-Azhar University said Bobby’s decision to join Gerindra was a part of Jokowi’s and Prabowo’s strategies to reap mutual benefits for their political future.
“Jokowi may have asked Prabowo to give his son-in-law a ticket to run for North Sumatra governor as a way to return the favor for supporting his presidential bid,” Ujang told The Jakarta Post.
At the same time, “there is a need for the next ruling coalition led by Prabowo to secure strategic regions, such as Java and North Sumatra, in the upcoming regional elections,” he noted.
In March, Bobby announced his intention to run in the November regional head elections, but he stopped short of revealing which political parties would back him in the race.
Prior to joining Gerindra, Bobby was rumored to run for the North Sumatra top office on the ticket of the Golkar Party, which is also a member of the coalition backing Prabowo’s presidential bid.
However, Bobby faced opposition from the party’s North Sumatra members, who preferred to nominate the branch chair Musa “Ijeck” Rajekshah for the seat.
Commenting briefly on Bobby’s recent decision to join Gerindra, Jokowi said he could only offer his best prayer as a parent, stressing that “[Bobby] is an adult, responsible and independent.”
Executive director of Indikator Politik Indonesia Burhanudin Muhtadi said Bobby’s membership in Gerindra could boost the party’s standing in national politics for his status as the President’s son-in-law.
Despite Prabowo’s decisive victory in February’s election, his own political vehicle Gerindra only managed to secure third place in the simultaneous legislative race, falling behind the PDI-P and Golkar.
“Gerindra as the next ruling party still needs a lot of experienced new members, and they could come from the extended family of President Jokowi,” Burhanuddin said on Kompas TV.
Gerindra or Golkar?
Burhanuddin further said that it was still unclear whether Jokowi and Gibran would follow in Bobby’s footsteps, as the two appeared to take a wait-and-see approach to future political development.
“It is still too early to tell if Jokowi and Gibran will join Gerindra. Although my guess is that Gibran may decide to join Golkar instead of Gerindra,” Burhanuddin said.
There has been speculation that Jokowi and Gibran may be considering joining Golkar to solidify their political footing and so Jokowi could continue to play a significant role in Indonesian politics.
Some pro-Prabowo parties, including Golkar, have opened their doors for the father and son to join their parties, since the PDI-P confirmed that the two were no longer part of the ruling party.
A close Jokowi ally, Budi Arie Setiadi, who leads the President’s largest supporter group dubbed as ProJokowi, or ProJo, confirmed that the outgoing President was weighing carefully his options to join another party.
“Just wait. If the timing is right, things will be alright. Don’t worry. It is now being calculated [by President Jokowi],” Budi said on Wednesday, hinting that Jokowi may prefer joining “a nationalist and populist party” that reflects the group.
Noting on how Bobby and Gibran were fired from the the PDI-P due to their clash with the party, Ujang said Jokowi would likely refrain from “putting all his eggs in one basket.”
“Jokowi may now think it is safer to have his family members spread across different parties,” he added.