Rebranding Indonesia's politicians

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' reflections from Indonesia, Argentina, Kenya, Colombia and Germany.

Prabowo Subianto was once a military hardman at the forefront of Indonesian politics. He's run for the country's presidency twice before - and failed. Will it be third time lucky for him on the 14th of February? The BBC's former Indonesia correspondent Rebecca Henschke recently revisited the country and was startled by his apparent image makeover to appeal to first-time voters.

When Javier Milei was elected President of Argentina in November, it was largely thanks to his promises of radical change to save the economy. In Buenos Aires recently, James Menendez saw signs of fiscal distress everywhere.

Kenya's Penal Code outlaws abortion - with limited exceptions after cases of rape or incest, or where mothers are ill or aged under 18. Yet each year, tens of thousands of women and girls facing unwanted pregnancies resort to backstreet clinics, or try to induce terminations themselves. Linda Ngari explores the dangers they face - and the reasons they're willing to run the risk.

Going from armed rebel to eco-tourism enabler might seem a drastic career change - but it's a path some former guerrilla fighters in Colombia are keen to take. Zoe Gelber talked to some demobilised former members of the FARC movement who hope to make a more peaceful living guiding travellers through the rainforests they once fought in.

And Rob Crossan goes on the trail of the bratwurst in Nuremberg. It seem like just a humble sausage - but it's protected by European legislation, has hundreds of years of history behind it, and is deeply beloved by locals looking for reassurance.

Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-Ordinator: Sophie Hill

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:05.0	Today in the country of beef steak, even a chicken is a treat these days,
0:10.0	as rampant inflation pushes the cost of living ever higher in Argentina.
0:16.3	How harsh laws and social taboos risking the health of women and girls in Kenya. Would you choose to go into the Amazonian
0:25.8	jungle with a former guerrilla fighter? These days Colombia invites you to do just
0:31.8	that to go bird watching. And the law of the Bratfourst in Germany,
0:38.0	don't mess around with the recipe and forget about making a vegan version, this sausage means far too much to people.
0:47.0	But first to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority democracy, which will vote for its next president on the 14th of February. Current opinion polls suggest that the former general Proboo Sobiento will win out on his third attempt to become the country's leader.
1:06.8	Rebecca Henski reported for the BBC for 15 years from Indonesia, when she recently returned, she found much to her surprise that the
1:16.3	72-year-old former strongman has undergone an extraordinary rebranding to win over
1:22.4	first-time voters.
1:24.0	Puppy dog eyes on a smiling chubby-cheeked cartoon face stare down at me
1:30.0	from huge campaign posters that line either side of the Java Highway I'm driving on.
1:35.5	I'm struggling to get my head around this image.
1:39.0	It's clearly presidential candidate Provolowo Subianto. But the last time he ran for office
1:45.6	when I was a correspondent in Jakarta, the images were of him commanding or marching
1:50.5	with troops. He always appeared happiest when to stride a horse or raising his fist in anger during a firebrand speech.
1:59.0	This former top general from a powerful family has long reveled in a strong man image, not a sweet, cute
2:07.4	one.
2:09.4	Praboa was dismissed from the military after accusations that he was involved in the
2:14.0	kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy students in the late 90s in the
2:19.1	turbulent dying days of the Sahato regime. He was banned from entering the United States for a while
	...

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