Few would believe that Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, after defeating Prabowo Subianto in the July 2014 presidential election, could survive until 2019, simply because he does not control any political party and relies on support from people at the grassroots level. Many expected him to act as a puppet for the ruling coalition and to be an easy target for bullying from Prabowo’s camp.



What is happening now? The opposition force is not only toothless but often appears as the unlikely die-hard supporter of the Jokowi administration, while the ruling coalition can do little to control the government and quite frequently acts as Jokowi’s enemy.



All political parties that hold seats at the House of Representatives tend to act as “loyal” partners of the government because they realize that being distant from the executive means their access to funds, power and influence is als...