Surakarta king says no discussion yet on plan to succeed Gibran as mayor

JAKARTA: The titular king of Surakarta, Mangkunegara X (pic), said on Monday (March 4) that despite his close ties with outgoing Surakarta leader Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the two had not yet discussed a possible plan for him to succeed President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's son as mayor.

The 26-year-old leader of the Mangkunegaran court made the statement in response to speculation that Gibran had given his blessing for the young king to run as mayor in the upcoming regional election.

"We haven't had that talk. Let's see how it goes. I am just going with the flow," Mangkunegara said, as quoted by Antara.

When asked about what type of leader the city of Surakarta needed, he said it was up to the people to decide.

"That should not come from me. It should be up to all of you what kind of leader Surakarta needs," he said.

Gibran is expected to vacate his position as Surakarta mayor in October once he is sworn in as vice president for Prabowo Subianto, the presumptive winner of the Feb 14 presidential election.

Based on the actual vote count conducted by the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Prabowo-Gibran ticket has now received more than 58 per cent of the votes.

In late February, Mangkunegara joined a luncheon event held by Gibran's volunteer group with the incumbent Surakarta mayor present. The event has been seen by analysts as Gibran's support for Mangkunegara to succeed him as mayor of Surakarta.

The luncheon was held at the Mangkunegara court, the same site where President Jokowi held the wedding of his youngest son and chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Kaesang Pangarep. - The Jakarta Post/ANN