Indonesia’s Next President?

[Valin]

Via Meadia:

Walter Russell Mead

8/4/12

 

Indonesians will not go to the polls to elect a new president until 2014, but already a front-runner has emerged. His name is Prabowo Subianto and he is a wealthy, charismatic ex-general and the former son-in-law of disgraced former president Suharto.

 

Tired of corruption, inefficiency, and bottlenecks caused by delayed infrastructure projects, many Indonesians seem to want a strong hand ruling the country after the next elections. The Wall Street Journal wonders if General Prabawo fits that bill:

 

(Snip)

 

But for all its problems, Indonesia is something of a success story: it is the world’s largest Muslim majority country and its transition from dictatorship to democracy has inspired Muslims and others around the world. Americans will need to pay more attention to Indonesia in this new Pacific-focused century; for one thing, Indonesia is the natural leader of ASEAN at a time when tension over the future of the South China Sea is high.