Between Red Plastic Gifts And Ganjar Pranowo-Erick Thohir Meeting

Special dock

JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir has just met with the Governor of Central Java as well as a presidential candidate from the PDI-P, Ganjar Pranowo. The meeting was held in a moment that was familiar, casual, and somewhat relaxed.

This photo has been widely circulated among journalists, Wednesday, July 5. Erick Thohir looks like he is carrying a gift in a red plastic bag that is suspected of containing a food box for Ganjar Pranowo.

Until this news was published, there had been no official statement from the Central Java Provincial Government's public relations team regarding what was discussed and the details of the meeting.

These two figures have long been predicted by a number of observers and figures as the ideal pair to become vice presidential candidates in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Is this meeting a code?

Referring to the analysis of the Executive Director of the Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO) Dedi Kurnia Syah, these two figures are complementary figures. Not only from an electoral point of view, but from a leadership perspective. According to him, both Ganjar Pranowo and Erick Thohir although they have different characteristics and backgrounds, they are actually profitable for both of them.

"Ganjar has so far succeeded in playing a role as a figure who emerged from below. He managed to reverse his image as a populist. Meanwhile, Erick, from an elite class, who might be able to draw the target vote if he is juxtaposed with Ganjar," said Dedi some time ago.

In the context of leadership, Ganjar Pranowo is a leader with a nationalist style while Erick Thohir has a religious style because he is a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cadre. For example, in the survey (IPO) for the period 5 - 13 June 2023, in the results of pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates, the Ganjar-Erick pair received 26.8 percent of the score.

Meanwhile, in other surveys such as SMRC in May 2023, there are already several potential vice presidential names to be paired with Ganjar Pranowo. The vice presidential candidates who got first place were Erick Thohir with 19.4 percent, then Sandiaga Uno 14.3, and Mahfud MD 13.2 percent.