Prabowo’s Rating Soars to Record 81% on Free Lunch, Tax Retreat
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s popularity hit a milestone within his first 100 days in office, surpassing his predecessor’s rating and marking the highest score for a new administration.
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Prabowo’s approval rating was at 80.9% in the nationwide survey by Litbang Kompas from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10. The former military general’s popularity has eclipsed levels enjoyed by Joko Widodo over the same period.
About 84.7% of lower-income respondents were satisfied with Prabowo’s leadership and his populist policies. At the end of last year, he scaled back a planned value-added tax increase weeks after writing off around $550 million in debt for small businesses. The rollout of a free lunch program and social aid was also applauded, though nearly 30% voiced dissatisfaction over the uneven or misdirected distribution, according to Litbang Kompas.
Prabowo’s soaring popularity at home comes while the 73-year-old leader also bolsters Indonesia’s international ties. After visits to the US and China, he is scheduled to visit India at the end of this week and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shortly after becoming the newest member of the BRICS group of developing nations.
The Indonesian president campaigned on a pro-business platform, pledging to continue the policies of his predecessor to attract more investments and boost growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy to 8% during his five-year term.
A lot depends on whether his administration can balance social spending with sound fiscal management, especially as 32% of those polled remain skeptical about his ability to boost state revenues.
His free lunch program, which may need an additional budget of about $6 billion this year, risks bloating the fiscal deficit and undermining investor confidence in one of Asia’s most closely watched emerging markets.
As for political influence, Prabowo’s coalition holds around 80% of the seats in the national parliament, enabling swift legislative action. The Litbang Kompas survey also shows there’s no political resistance for now, including from opposition.
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s popularity rating also rose to 79.9% from 71.1% in September, according to the survey. That’s also higher than his father, Jokowi’s 65.1% score in a January 2015 survey to mark his 100 days in office during his first term.
The latest poll was conducted across 38 provinces with 1,000 respondents, with a margin of error of 3.1%.
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