National Economic Council: Economic Improvements Boost Public Satisfaction with Prabowo to 79 Per Cent

Jakarta, VIVA – Deputy Chair of the National Economic Council (DEN), Mari Elka Pangestu, stated that domestic economic improvements undertaken by the government have propelled public satisfaction with President Prabowo Subianto’s leadership to 79.9 per cent.

The data, drawn from research conducted by Indikator Politik in early 2026, also highlighted that public satisfaction with President Prabowo’s leadership is the highest recorded for a first year in office compared with all previous presidents.

“Based on the Indikator survey in January 2026, satisfaction with President Prabowo reached 79.9 per cent, with economic conditions perceived as increasingly improving,” Mari said at the OJK Institute’s ‘Economic Outlook 2026’ webinar on Thursday, 19 February 2026.

“This is high compared with the first year of other previous presidents,” she added.

Mari outlined several reasons behind the high public satisfaction with President Prabowo, noting that it was largely driven by the numerous programmes directly targeting the public.

“The public is satisfied because of the various presidential programmes that frequently provide assistance, such as social assistance (Bansos) and the Free Nutritious Meals programme (MBG),” Mari said.

Specifically regarding the MBG programme, Mari noted that public satisfaction was recorded at 72.8 per cent. Furthermore, various other government programmes are also expected to help drive national economic growth towards the target of above 5 per cent.

However, Mari cautioned that the government still faces a number of outstanding tasks to address over the next five years, including curbing rises in staple goods prices, eradicating corruption, and creating employment opportunities.

“Regarding MBG specifically, 72.8 per cent of the public expressed satisfaction. However, it must be acknowledged that there is still room for improvement, and the government has homework to complete if national economic growth is to exceed 5 per cent,” she said.