When Anthony Albanese arrives in Indonesia tomorrow, he will find himself in a consequential country poised between two possible futures.

One is the vision of its president, Prabowo Subianto – the former special forces strongman-turned-“cute grandpa” – of a Golden Indonesia. This is his plan to turn a middle-income democracy into a fully developed one by 2045.

Illustration by Dionne GainCredit:

The other is the dystopian future foreseen by the students leading a nationwide protest named for its fears – Dark Indonesia. This student-led movement worries that Prabowo is repressing education while restoring the army to the centre of political power.

After six months in charge, Prabowo is enjoying a political honeymoon. His approval rate is around 80 per cent.

In earlier election campaigns, he played the tough guy, riding a white stallion into a political rally and delivering thundering xenophobic tirades. But he won last year’s election jigging his way to TikTok attention by mimicking Donald Trump dance moves and cultivating the image of a benign grandad.

He promises to raise economic growth from 5 per cent to 8 per cent and propel Indonesia into the ranks of the world’s biggest economies. It’s already the fourth-most populous country, with some 290 million people. The president wants to give it economic heft to match. It’s the world’s 18th-largest economy today, while Australia is 14th; by 2045, Indonesia aims to be the fourth-biggest economy.

Anthony Albanese with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC summit in Peru last November. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

At the centre of his agenda is his campaign promise to give free, nutritious meals daily to all schoolchildren and pregnant and nursing mothers – a........

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