The odds have never looked better for Prabowo Subianto to win Indonesia’s highest office.
A former military general, Prabowo was dismissed for alleged human rights abuses, exiled in Jordan, then banned from the U.S. for two decades. He’s temperamental, volatile and known for pounding tables and fiery nationalist speeches. The former son-in-law of Indonesia’s late dictator Suharto, he twice lost the race to become president to Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi. The last time, in 2019, he fought a bitter monthslong campaign to overturn the results before eventually joining Jokowi’s Cabinet as defense minister.
Today, as he stands on the cusp of potentially claiming an outright win in elections scheduled on Feb. 14, Prabowo is reaping the rewards of an extensive image makeover. Over the past few months, helped by a social media campaign that features his cats, dance videos and cartoonized portraits, the 72-year-old has tried to come off as a cuddly grandpa.