The parallel between talent shows and politics
The parallel between talent shows and politics
Bantarto Bandoro, Jakarta
Almost no one here, young and old, boys and girls, even
preschool children, has not seen the popular television program
Akademi Fantasi Indosiar (AFI), which is based on Mexican La
Academia, where audience members vote for their favorite singer.
Another private channel, RCTI, broadcasts a similar program,
Indonesian Idol. Everyone watching the final of the first season
of AFI was confident that Mawar, a talented singer from Bandung,
would win because she was considered by many to have a high-
powered, diva-esque voice.
The final, however, saw Ferry, a contestant from Medan,
receive the most votes. The public voted for him not because he
had as good a voice as Mawar, but more likely because he was so
humble and rather good looking. That he is the son of a pedicab
driver might have been an additional factor that influenced
people to vote for him.
As we can see, this competition was not totally about talent.
There was a lot more to it. It was about how individual
preferences aggregate a nationwide decision. It is also about how
society, especially the younger members, make their choices.
Thus, it is much like democratic politics.
One sees parallels between AFI and politics. An AFI-type
contest will come to politics next month when the five
presidential contestants compete for the ultimate seat of power:
Merdeka Palace.
Just like the AFI contestants who before performing do a
little bit of campaigning to garner support, all of the
presidential candidates will have to convince the crowds of their
national agendas during a month-long campaign. It is through this
process that the weaknesses and strengths of each presidential
candidates will be exposed.
What we will see in this unprecedented direct presidential
election, as in AFI, is not only the extent to which the
candidates will go to garner support, but also how the public
will view their backgrounds, their way of presenting ideas, etc.
What really matters for them is not to be detached from the
emotional bond with their supporters. This is to suggest that in
politics, sheer ability or popularity are never enough, nor are
political and economic programs.
It is assumed all of the presidential candidates will maximize
the use of their respective political machineries. Most
supporters of the candidates believe their machinery will do the
job to win the presidency.
The AFI contestants don't have any machinery to win votes, but
they did go through series of training sessions to get the best
out of their performances. With the help of their machinery,
managed by the so-called campaign strategy experts, all of the
presidential candidates will do their utmost to attract votes.
Since this is going to be a direct election that involves
certain political truisms, in the end it is the public vote that
really counts and not the political machinery, however reliable
and sophisticated the machinery may be.
The machinery will have its limits and only provide the
candidates with certain political guidelines when they face the
public, meaning that they will be on their own afterward. In
other words, how many votes the candidates get will depend on
their ability to capitalize on whatever tactics they have to
connect with the voters.
On might see, for example, the case of Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who has scored high in opinion polls. A public survey
here in recent months ranked him as the number one contender. If
he happens to win enough votes to reach the final round of the
election, it will not be solely because of his political platform
or his political machinery, but it might be due to his posture,
his good looks or his decision to quit the Cabinet after a
serious rift with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her
husband, who chided him publicly for acting like a child. Thus,
public sympathy for certain candidates will be shaped by
nonpolitical factors.
With the presidential election less than a month away, the
second season of AFI is providing the public with more political
lessons on how to explore and expose real democracy. President
Megawati, as if she was hosting the contest, has reminded the
public to vote according to their conscience (The Jakarta Post,
May 31).
She must be aware of the fact that the exercise of democracy
cannot be detached totally from the inner feelings of the voters.
By reminding the public of this, she is actually attempting to
connect with her voters and remind them of what she thinks has
been her greatest achievements or the fact that she is former
president Sukarno's daughter.
The ultimate power trip to Merdeka Palace will not be an easy
one for the presidential candidates. The current campaign will
provide the public with the opportunity to assess how and what
the candidates have to say about themselves as well as about the
future of the country.
All of the candidates know at the outset that the "political
equipment" they have at their disposal will be insignificant once
they are in public. That is to suggest that the road to the top
will be determined solely by the inner feeling of the voters.
The writer (bandoro@csis.or.id) is the editor of The
Indonesian Quarterly at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS). He is also a lecturer in the
International Relations Postgraduate Studies Program at the
University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Science.