Australia-Indonesia ties are easily disrupted at the best of times - full of flowery speeches and treaty obligations but empty of what diplomats call “ballast”, the people-to-people ties that bind.

In this context, the election of a new and untested president in Joko Widodo, who now seems likely to replace the 10-year veteran Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Indonesian president, carries potential to upset a wobbly foreign policy apple cart.

From furniture salesman to president, Joko Widodo is a man of the people. Without military training or from a big family, 'Jokowi' is a new style of politician for Indonesia. Credit:Rony Zakaria

We don’t yet know enough about his attitude to the world to judge, but in his early days at least, “Jokowi” is likely to be tentative in international relations and keen not to upset anything. Even as he finds his feet, his demeanour suggests he is unlikely to be a president who wants radical change.

“Jokowi” is a new style of politician for Indonesia. He did not, like his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, come from a big family, a military training and Suharto-era patronage.