Jakarta – With opinion polls showing her facing electoral disaster, Indonesia's normally aloof President Megawati Sukarnoputri has embarked on an unprecedented campaign of mingling with the people.
The 57-year-old President hosted her first press conference in five years and was interviewed by almost every local television network since campaigning began on Tuesday for next month's presidential election.
But analysts and opponents said Ms Megawati's slick new strategy is unlikely to win back the support of the country's millions of poor, who voted for her in droves in 1999.
On Wednesday, she toured a slum in north Jakarta and visited a bus station and a market in a low-rent district. In an apparent show of support, hundreds crowded around her to kiss her hand, shouting: "Mega, Mega."
"I was very happy to see Megawati in the flesh and kiss her hand," said Ms Indrawati, 35, a housewife in a slum in northern Jakarta. "She looks very pretty and motherly." Still, Ms Indrawati said she would vote for former military chief Wiranto.
"I think it's probably a case of too little too late," said Mr Damien Kingsbury of Australia's Deakin University. "The voters will judge her record, not on some last-minute burst of enthusiasm."
Ms Megawati has been criticised for the slow pace of political reform and her failure to crack down on corruption. Until this week, she rarely appeared in public to explain government polices or promote her achievements, and regularly ignored reporters' questions.
"The press have not supported me and the things I have done in my limited time as President," she told local Metro TV station when asked why she had been reluctant to speak to the media.
Ms Megawati's campaign advisers – who have long called for her to make more public appearances and speak to the media – said the new strategy of presenting their candidate was already proving a success.
"People like Megawati's smile, the way she responds to the peoples' greetings," said campaign manager Jacob Tobing. "Her performance is improving."