Prabowo begins second year with tepid economic growth, silent polls

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto enters his second year in office facing mounting challenges such as tepid economic growth, stubbornly high youth unemployment and a troubled multibillion-dollar free meals programme.

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Now, a new concern looms: slipping voter support, the extent of which is hard to gauge because of a lack of credible public polling in his first year.

"The fact that there have been no good polls made public since February indicates all polls have likely been detecting declining support for Prabowo," said political analyst Kevin O'Rourke. "No polling client is willing to approve the release of findings that would irk the President."

Leaked findings from one credible pollster, reported by several local media outlets, showed Mr Prabowo's approval rating in September had slipped to about 59 per cent from 79 per cent earlier in 2025. Indikator Politik Indonesia said afterwards that it had not released the results of the survey.