Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini has much in common with President Joko Widodo. Both rose from obscure backgrounds to become highly effective and respected regional leaders, Risma in Surabaya and Joko in Solo, and later Jakarta.

Both have been lauded internationally for their novel styles of governance that have blown through decades of staid bureaucracy like a much-needed draft of fresh air.

And, arguably to their detriment, both are affiliated with the Indonesian Democratic party of Struggle, or PDI-P.

For Joko, the political concessions demanded by the party are well-documented and highly controversial. That he had to depend on PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to allow him to run for president is telling.

Risma, though, has been set free of those bonds. The PDI-P has decided it will no longer support her in December’s mayoral election and will instead back her deputy — the same party man who tried to bring a vote of no-confidence against her in the City Council. This so-called deputy has also publicly accused Risma of not being loyal to the party.

If loyalty to the party is the PDI-P’s benchmark for what makes a strong leader, then this geriatric party can keep its clone army of yes men to the empress dowager. Risma has plenty of other parties fighting over her, some of which subscribe to a notion alien to the PDI-P: that of serving the voters rather than the party elites.

She can also run as an independent candidate, and given how incredibly popular she is — a rise that some say Megawati considers a threat to her own grip on power — Risma could easily win.

Indonesia needs more leaders like this: strong, effective, and not saddled with the demands of a self-serving party machine.

The post Editorial: PDI-P Ditching Risma Is Best News for Her appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Source: The Jakarta Globe