Jokowi, Indonesia’s kingmaker, works to keep influence after election

At the peak of his power but unable to contest next year’s presidential election, Indonesia’s wildly popular leader, Joko Widodo, is hedging his bets between the top two candidates and nurturing a dynasty to ensure a lasting influence.
While Jokowi, as he is known, has appeared to back the contender from the ruling party, he has also been covertly marshalling support for controversial ex-general Prabowo Subianto to run Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Both leading candidates have indicated they will continue Jokowi’s economic policies, signalling continuity for flagship projects like moving the capital away from Jakarta and developing an electric vehicle industry in the trillion-dollar G20 economy.
Analysts say, but deepening Indonesia’s patronage and dynastic politics would be at odds with democratic reforms the world’s third-largest democracy has achieved since throwing off authoritarian rule a quarter-century ago.