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[Indonesia appoints its third finance minister in two years: Nazara takes over, fiscal discipline and central bank independence under scrutiny] (1) Indonesia has appointed its third finance minister in two years. President Prabowo dismissed Finance Minister Purbayar and appointed his deputy, Suahsir Nazara, to succeed him. This comes after the sudden resignation of Central Bank Governor Wajiyo several weeks earlier, intensifying scrutiny of Prabowo's control over fiscal and monetary policy. (2) Investors believe that Nazara is a well-known technocrat with extensive experience in the Ministry of Finance, having served as deputy minister for seven years and led the fiscal policy agency, and has close ties to the Sri Mulyani era. Analysts say his internal qualifications reduce transition risks; Capital Economics says the appointment is "welcome," but more evidence of policy improvement is needed. (3) The Indonesian economy has been squeezed this year by the energy crisis and fiscal constraints triggered by the war with Iran, with rising subsidy costs and government cuts to flagship projects. The benchmark index has fallen more than 25% this year, and the currency hit a record low in June. Fiscal discipline subsequently helped stabilize market sentiment; the Indonesian rupiah was quoted at 17,680 against the US dollar on Wednesday, and is expected to remain in the 17,600-17,800 range in the near term; the fiscal deficit is expected to widen to 2.85% of GDP by 2026. (4) Purbayar’s one-year term was downgraded in credit outlook by Fitch and Moody’s due to policy uncertainty. In his first speech, Nazara vowed to maintain the credibility of the budget and promised to keep the deficit below 3% of GDP. But a key constraint is that he must finance Prabowo’s expensive growth agenda with increasingly limited fiscal space. (5) Analysts expect fiscal policy to be less expansionary and to establish a more conciliatory relationship with the central bank. But this reshuffle comes at a time of unease about the central bank’s autonomy: Prabowo’s nephew was appointed deputy governor, Wajiyo resigned, and parliament elected Destri Damayanti as the central bank’s first female governor. Kuranzik called it “a further and worrying sign” of Prabowo’s consolidation of economic power. (6) The test lies in whether the 2027 budget, fiscal policy, and central bank will be more clearly separated, and whether Nazarra will cut or postpone projects lacking rapid economic momentum. Protecting fiscal credibility points to a real shift; if spending ambitions remain unchanged and adjustments are merely rhetoric, it's more like "business as usual."