Populist Rhetoric in Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Debates: Progressive, Patriotic, and Technocratic Populism

Populist rhetoric in Indonesia’s 2024 electoral arena is intensely presented in the nationally televised debates of 12 December 2023, 7 January 2024, and 4 February 2024, featuring Anies Baswedan, Prabowo Subianto, and Ganjar Pranowo. Debate discourse constructs three distinct populist logics. Progressive populism (Anies) frames rule-of-law reform, anti-corruption, and inequality reduction as moral redress, opposing “citizens” to “corrupt elites.” Patriotic populism (Prabowo) couples sovereignty and unity with a protector-provider claim, linking security and welfare promises (such as free meals and mass housing) to decisive executive stewardship. Technocratic populism (Ganjar) advances rapid, solution-oriented governance such as sat-set (fast in solving problems), connecting digital delivery and bureaucratic speed to pragmatic welfare gains. The final debate shows partial convergence on health and education without erasing brand distinctions. Across candidates, messages condensed into portable, high-arousal units travel farthest online, indicating that narrative packaging, more than policy detail, shapes diffusion and persuasive impact in platformed campaigns.