On Valentine’s Day next year, Indonesia will go to the polls for its most important election in ten years.After months of uncertainty, Jokowi and his circle have come out strongly in support for Prabowo, with Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, announced as his vice presidential running mate in recent days.

Dr Nadirsyah Hosen, Dr Jeremy J Kingsley and Professor Tim Lindsey write that the so-called “omnibus bill” on job creation has been misnamed – it is basically about making life easier for big business.

After a long, bitter, but largely uneventful campaign, it looks like President Joko Widodo will be re-elected with about 55 per cent of the vote. University of Melbourne academics offer their early thoughts on the results.

In the 2014 elections, one of Joko Widodo's key advantages was that he was not Prabowo Subianto. This time around, writes Professor Tim Lindsey, Prabowo’s main advantage is simply that he is not Jokowi.

Professor Tim Lindsey writes that Jokowi's backtracking on plans to release Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is a reminder that there are still powerful nationalist forces in government who regarded Islamist hardliners as an existential threat.

Indonesia has achieved remarkable change since Soeharto stepped down. But Professor Tim Lindsey writes that where the country will head next is far from certain, and recent developments suggest its future may be less liberal and less welcoming of foreign engagement.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appears to have developed a strong rapport with President Joko Widodo. But Professor Tim Lindsey and Dr Dave McRae write that this may not be enough to overcome the mutual misunderstandings and suspicions, and tensions over human rights issues, that complicate the bilateral relationship.

Given that Australian leaders often describe the relationship with Indonesia as the country's most important bilateral relationship, the newly released Foreign Policy White Paper is noticeably light on detail about Indonesia. The problem for Australia, writes Professor Tim Lindsey, is that Indonesia probably doesn't care.