Vaudine England – Megawati Sukarnoputri's father founded independent Indonesia and was its first president until deposed in 1966. Her constituency relies on her emotional allure to the masses and her family name.
But though the masses may love her, Ms Megawati secures low regard from intellectuals. They do not count on her to solve the country's problems because, they say, she lacks vision or is too much the housewife. Student groups blocked her recent visit to Central Java, aligning her with other elite politicians.
Analysts agree the only reason President Abdurrahman Wahid still has his job is that few believe Ms Megawati could do better.
In a world of tawdry and corrupt power plays, it is Ms Megawati's distant poise and motherly style that attract. In a speech in Singapore last week, she displayed more concern about the state of the nation than ever, saying the country had not been in worse strife since its foundation.
In her elusive way, Ms Megawati is edging ever closer to the presidency.
She travels every week, usually within her country, opening care centres or companies, waving enigmatically at adoring crowds. And all the time she refuses to reach out and snatch Mr Wahid's job.
This is to be expected. Indeed, it is the key to her appeal. This woman has survived decades of political intrigue with a reputation for honesty and courage. Even her enemies admit she is not corrupt. Unfortunately, even her friends roll their eyes about her husband, Taufik Kiemas, labelled "Mr Bhutto" for his dubious business style.
Ms Megawati was born into a world of privilege on January 23, 1947. Her mother, Fatmawati, left with eldest son Guntur, in umbrage at Sukarno taking a second (and later a third, fourth and fifth) wife, leaving Megawati and her three younger siblings with their father.
After dropping out of agricultural science classes when her father was deposed in 1966-67, Ms Megawati married an air force lieutenant, Surindro Supjarso, had one miscarriage and bore two children. Her father died in June 1970. Seven months later, her husband died in a plane crash.
A year later, she developed an attraction for an Eqyptian diplomat, Hassan Gamal Ahmad Hassan. Under family pressure to break off the relationship, Ms Megawati instead eloped with him to Sukabumi. That "marriage" lasted about 90 minutes, and was annulled a fortnight later.
In 1973, Ms Megawati married Mr Taufik, then an activist, now a powerful businessman. She concentrated on raising her children – until 1986 when the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) made her a candidate.
Suharto's interference in the PDI gave Ms Megawati the chance to take the chairmanship in 1993, a brave move given the dangers of free expression in those days. Her hastily compiled political statement focused on the "little people" disadvantaged amid Indonesia's fast growth.
Even then she had to battle criticisms of her elusive political style. "Silence does not mean not thinking," she said in November 1993. Her mute depiction of victimhood during years of harassment by Suharto's political machine became a potent opposition symbol. Now her advisers are suggesting she speak out more. After all, once again the presidency is within her reach.