Jakarta

WHEN the political outsider Joko Widodo was sworn in as president of Indonesia, promising "people-centric politics" and a common touch, supporters hoped for miracles while opponents confidently predicted he would be destroyed politically within a year. Nearly three months later, neither side has been proved completely right or wrong, and those who look the most prescient were the ones who said the only thing predictable about Indonesian politics is its unpredictability.

Two months into his presidency, an AirAsia jet with 162 people on board fell from the Indonesian sky into the Java Sea. While the cause has yet to be determined, the crash focused international attention on Indonesia's airline safety problems and a regulatory apparatus that critics say has not kept pace with the country's booming budget airline industry. "This is the moment to totally reform our air transportation," Mr Joko, 53, said in an interview at the state palace on Sunday, moving to the front burner an issue that had not even merited a mention in his campaign platform.