During his final term as Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo has played the global statesman. He hosted leaders from across the region at the Association of South-East Asian Nations (asean) summit in Jakarta from September 5th to 7th.
In August he bagged economic deals during a tour of Africa. He will attend the g20 leaders’ summit in Delhi on September 9th, having hosted last year’s event, and plans to visit Saudi Arabia soon, too. At home, his soft-spoken, folksy style has made Jokowi, as he is known, one of the best-liked leaders in the world.
His approval rating hovers around 80% (see chart). Only Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, comes close. But even as Jokowi basks in his popularity, speculation is building about what his legacy will be and who will succeed him after he steps down next year.
When Jokowi became president in 2014, he was like no leader the country had ever seen: a furniture-maker who was raised in a riverside shack, he had no connection to the army or any prominent family. He is most at home inquiring about the price of onions at a market or handing out t-shirts to the crowds that throng to catch a glimpse of him wherever he goes.
For the rest of this article: https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/09/07/what-will-indonesia-look-like-after-jokowi-leaves