A new president is supposed to be popular so that if necessary he can make unpopular policies that he believes will greatly benefit the people over the long term.

That’s why it’s called the honeymoon period — people are still so in love with the president that they will tolerate any short-term pains from his policies. They, too, share the belief that if they can get over the early hurdles, things can only get better going forward.

But President Joko Widodo has taken a different path. While other Indonesian leaders have been able to maintain their approval ratings through their first year in office, Joko’s has dropped by 15 percent since he was inaugurated last October.

It’s a big drop for a new president, and highlights the impatience of a public that holds very high expectations of Joko’s leadership and wants to see concrete results. If at this stage the people have lost their trust in his administration, he will be forced to cater to the politicians around him to survive, leading him to make bad decision after bad decision.

It’s a vicious circle. He won’t be able to make the bold breakthroughs needed for the betterment of the people because he will be forced to always accommodate the interests of vested politicians.

The main problem for this mess is the incompetence of his ministers. Most, if not all, have failed to live up to expectations. They have failed to show the public they want to do their job, and instead issue ridiculous statements on a daily basis.

Most of them are in the cabinet not because they are capable, but because of their political links. It’s time for Joko to send them back — tell them they’ve been given a chance and blown it.

Joko must break the circle — fire these ministers and quickly appoint those who can do the job and win back the people’s trust.

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Source: The Jakarta Globe