by Simone Galimberti

Many pundits believe that Indonesian democracy is at stake in case of a victory of Prabowo Subianto, the current minister of defence and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the first son of President Jokowi who also happens to be the Mayor of Surakarta.

According to all the major polls for the upcoming presidential election, there is a real chance of having the duo leading the most important Southeast Asian nation, a country that has been at the drive of the process of regional cooperation and the world’s largest Muslim country that also happens to be a democracy.

I personally think that the fear is disproportionate, and the overall resilience of the democratic institutions in the country will be tested, but, all in all, they won’t collapse.

At the same time, let me say this unequivocally: a Prabowo’s victory is going to be bad news.

If Prabowo prevails, the ongoing decline of Indonesian democracy will further accelerate, but not because of a sudden authoritarian turn that will unfold the day after his inauguration.

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