Publication

This paper analyzes the implications of the victory of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (PD) in the parliamentary elections of Indonesia on 9 April 2009 for the evolution of the national party system and its patterns of electoral competition. The author examines the reasons for the PD's electoral success and shows that the Thaksin-style cash hand-outs to the poor were the main reason for the PD's victory, potentially signalling the emergence of new electoral paradigms in Indonesia.