Is generational change taking place within Indonesia’s political parties, and how do the views of younger leaders differ to the older generation? What are the prospects that President Joko Widodo will be able to improve his dysfunctional relationship with his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), chaired by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri?
In a sneak peek of his forthcoming Faculty of Arts Public Lecture on the State of Indonesian Democracy on 14 July, I recently interviewed Dr Philips Vermonte (Centre for Strategic and International Studies) in Jakarta on these issues. Dr Vermonte draws on CSIS’s census of four of Indonesia’s largest political parties, in which researchers interviewed thousands of provincial and district level leaders across the country.
This interview is the first in a new Talking Indonesia podcast, in which I’ll present extended interviews with experts on Indonesian politics, foreign policy, culture, language and more. Look out for a new interview each week during the first month of the podcast, and then fortnightly thereafter.
Photo by Dave McRae
