Reviewing The Meaning Behind Jokowi's Lunch With Three Candidates

President Jokowi has lunch with three presidential candidates who will participate in the 2024 presidential election, namely Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo, and Anies Baswedan at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Monday (30/10/23). (BPMI Setpres)

JAKARTA - President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has constantly made a surprise in the country's political arena. Most recently, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta invited a third lunch for presidential candidates on Monday (31/10/2023).

Present at the Merdeka Palace were the Presidential Candidate from the Coalition for Change Anies Baswedan, the Presidential Candidate promoted by PDIP Ganjar Pranowo, and the Presidential Candidate from the Forward Indonesia Coalition Prabowo Subianto.

Jokowi, Ganjar, Anies, and Prabowo look compact wearing batik tops with different motifs. The four of them seemed relaxed sitting face-to-face facing a round table with various dishes on top.

Spokesperson for Presidential Candidate Anies Baswedan, Surya Tjandra, hopes that this meeting will provide fresh air to the political climate ahead of the 2024 General Election. So that the issue of disintegration or division due to different choices of Presidential Candidates and Vice Presidential Candidates can be avoided.

"Hopefully sending a cool message; unity; and with neutrality that the president is trying to show, all state institutions can consistently follow the president's direction to be neutral," said Surya.

The eating agenda that afternoon was held moments after Jokowi delivered directions to regional head officials throughout Indonesia at the Presidential Palace.

The sudden lunch event between Jokowi and the presidential candidates has certainly attracted public attention. The public is wondering what Jokowi really meant by inviting the three of them to the Palace.

Is this a regular gathering event or there is a covert agenda in it. Understandably, now this is a political year, where every movement of the politician must have seized attention.

Moreover, Jokowi's image and his family are not doing well. The accusations of dynastic politics are intensively addressed to the President of the Republic of Indonesia for these two periods. Jokowi also had to face criticism and blasphemy, especially after the Mayor of Surakarta, Gibran Rakabuming Raka officially ran for Vice President Prabowo Subianto.

According to political observer and Executive Director of Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO), Dedi Kurnia Syah, Jokowi's lunch with three presidential candidates is a political agenda after the president faced various pressures.

"Inviting all presidential candidates coincides with the momentum by inviting all Acting Officers to the Palace, so that the situation that Jokowi built so that his political agenda is not vulgar only divides into one of the candidates, especially Jokowi faces a lot of public pressure after the Constitutional Court's decision and the support of Gibran as vice presidential candidate," said Dedi when contacted by VOI.

"Inviting the three presidential candidates is certainly to reduce public pressure, as well as lobbying the presidential candidates so as not to attack Jokowi. Although, the public still knows that Jokowi is not like expectations so far," he added.

Jokowi's name worsened after the Constitutional Court's decision in the middle of last month. At that time, the Constitutional Court granted part of the lawsuit related to the age limit of the presidential and vice presidential candidates. The Constitutional Court decided that someone under 40 years old who is currently serving as a regional head could run as a presidential and vice presidential candidate.

This decision was later considered a red carpet to Gibran, who in the last two years served as Mayor of Surakarta.

Blasphemy against Jokowi and the Constitutional Court is increasingly flowing with the figure of Anwar Usman, the head of the Constitutional Court who is also Jokowi's brother-in-law.

Dedi assessed that having lunch with the three presidential candidates was nothing but part of Jokowi's strategy to neutralize dynastic political issues.

Jokowi has so far been reliable in managing the crisis situation, and this lunch is one of his strategies. In fact, this meeting marked Jokowi being involved in political practices," added Dedi.

Contacted separately, a political observer from Al Azhar University Indonesia, Andriadi Achmad, actually appreciated Jokowi's steps to invite three presidential candidates to the Palace for lunch together.

According to him, this is Jokowi's way of avoiding polarization in the 2024 presidential election. As we know, in the previous two presidential elections that Jokowi won, the political temperature of the country heated up, causing divisions.

This is a form of statesman's attitude from Jokowi. He wants to avoid protracted polarization. He wants to show neutrality in the 2024 presidential election, so that this presidential election does not divide the nation. This is a classy political form and eliminates arrogance," said Andriadi.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of Poltracking Indonesia Hanta Yuda said, there are three meanings that can be taken from the meeting with Jokowi with three presidential readings. From the presidential side, from the presidential side and from the voter side.

From the president's side, there is a message that Jokowi wants to convey from the lunch event with the three presidential candidates. According to him, Jokowi wants to show the public that he has the same distance as the three presidential readings, and it can be seen from the same sitting distance between the four.

"Pak Jokowi wants to show closeness to all presidential candidates. So he really wants to impress being close and his position is the same as all presidential candidates. Second, he wants to emphasize to the public that Jokowi's position is neutral," said Hanta.

Despite allegations of hidden meaning from Jokowi, Hanta considered the event to be considered positive. Because from the perspective of the presidential candidate, according to Hanta, the presence of the three expressed the readiness of the three to contest in a democratic way.

Meanwhile, in terms of voters, Jokowi's lunch with the three presidential candidates must be a reminder for the public not to get carried away by the heat in the middle of the political year.

This shows that these three presidential candidates are ready to face winning or losing, which shows the values of Indonesia, Hanta explained.

"From the voter side, it can be interpreted that as a people, don't go too far, don't fight in support. Because even though they are now facing each other, competing, in the end they will unite again in the same government," he concluded.