LEX Campaigning comes direct from the pages of celebrity magazine Hello! – luminaries from Barack Obama, the US president, to the footballer David Beckham have been corralled, at least digitally, into supporting would-be Indonesian politicians. But when the world’s largest Muslim-dominated democracy goes to the polls on Thursday the economy, not superstars, will top the agenda.
Less dependent on trade and foreign investment than its Asian peers, Indonesia is less ensnared by the global crisis. But reliance on commodities, rising capital outflows and a weakening currency all take their toll. Bank Indonesia expects the economy to grow 4 per cent this year, about two-thirds that of the past four years. Like other central banks, it is erring on the side of generosity. For the average Indonesian voter surviving on a per capita gross domestic product of about $2,080, the squeeze is intensifying.
