Kalla outshines Susilo in popularity: Survey<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may be leading the nationwide
\nfight against corruption but a survey reveals that more people
\nnow perceive his deputy, Jusuf Kalla, plays an equal or more
\nimportant role in running the country.<\/p>\n
Conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), the poll
\nfound that 47.3 percent of people viewed that Kalla played an
\n\"equal or more pivotal role\" in government than Susilo.<\/p>\n
Only 40.9 percent believed that Susilo had the most active job
\nin government.<\/p>\n
While Susilo is still judged positively by those surveyed, the
\nresults are in contrast to an identical question asked the
\nprevious year, which gave Susilo a clear lead over Kalla in the
\nperformance stakes, with 49.8 percent of those surveyed putting
\nhim above Kalla, who scored only 40.9 percent for the \"equal or
\nmore pivotal\" question.<\/p>\n
The surveyors believe Kalla's increased performance rating
\nlikely came from his prominent role in the peaceful settlement of
\nthe Aceh conflict, perceptions of his proactive approach to the
\ncountry's economic policies, his support base in the House of
\nRepresentatives through the Golkar Party he heads and his
\nleadership style.<\/p>\n
During the survey conducted between Oct. 3 and Oct. 7, the LSI
\ninterviewed a thousand respondents across the country's 33
\nprovinces using a multistage random sampling method. The margin
\nof error was put at around 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n
LSI had announced only part of the results of the survey on
\nOct. 20, which showed Susilo's popularity had rating reached a
\nrecord low since he assumed power last year, although it was
\nstill above 50 percent.<\/p>\n
Perceptions of Kalla's role also increased in economic
\naffairs, with the Vice President's role -- of being in equal or
\nmore in command of the country's economy rated at 56.2 percent,
\ncompared to his boss' 33.8 percent.<\/p>\n
The President, a retired Army general, has since the onset
\nentrusted economic issues to his deputy, who is formerly a
\nbusinessman.<\/p>\n
Both had served in the previous administrations of Abdurrahman
\nWahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Most respondents said Susilo should play a bigger role in
\ngovernment because Susilo was the most popular choice during the
\npresidential and vice presidential elections last year.<\/p>\n
LSI executive director Denny J.A. said on Wednesday he was
\nsurprised by the results of the poll.<\/p>\n
He suggested that Susilo set a clearer division of labor
\nbetween him and his deputy and let Kalla stay in the background
\nfor some issues.<\/p>\n
The survey also discovered that 60 percent of respondents want
\na Cabinet reshuffle due to perceptions of a worsening economy and
\nthe presence of ministers who are deemed liabilities to Susilo's
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
Denny said the reshuffle should take place before 2006, with
\nattention paid to the economic team.<\/p>\n
\"Because the public consider the economy the most important
\nsector, the ministerial posts should be given to those who are
\ncapable and free from conflict of interests,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kalla-outshines-susilo-in-popularity-survey-1447893297",
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