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ABSTRAKPenelitian ini merupakan studi tentang komunikasi politik pencitraan kandidat dalam
Pemilukada DKI Jakarta 2012, khususnya yang difokuskan pada pencitraan Jokowi.
Kemenangan Jokowi dalam Pemilukada DKI Jakarta 2012 sangat fenomenal –Jokowi adalah
kandidat yang berasal dari luar Jakarta mampu mengalahkan kandidat petahana (incumbent).
Pencalonan Jokowi menjadi cermin bahwa Partai PDI Perjuangan sebagai partai yang
berorientasi pasar dan konsultan (consultant-and-market oriented party) –atau disebut juga
dengan istilah professionalized party. Keunggulan skor Jokowi dalam hasil Survei Opinion
Leader (Cyrus Network & Laboratorium Psikologi Politik UI) menjadi rujukan utama
kebijakan Partai PDI Perjuangan dalam mencalonkan Jokowi sebagai Calon Gubernur DKI
Jakarta pada Pemilukada 2012. Jokowi adalah kandidat pilihan pasar (market-choice
candidate). Jokowi adalah kandidat ideal yang diyakini memiliki kompetensi kepemimpinan
untuk memimpin Jakarta. Cyrus Network, sebuah lembaga konsultan politik, bersama
Laboratorium Psikologi Politik UI telah menjadi promotor atau endorser pencalonan Jokowi.
Profesi sebagai promotor atau endorser kandidat ideal telah menjadikan Cyrus Network
menjadi penciptra tradisi baru dalam dunia konsultansi politik di Indonesia dan dunia –
selama ini belum ada publikasi hasil penelitian yang menyatakan ada sebuah lembaga
konsultan politik menjadi promotor kandidat. Cyrus Network mendobrak tradisi lama dalam
dunia konsultasi politik dimana keterlibatan konsultan politik dalam pemilu didorong oleh
semangat bisnis (market-driven consultant). Dukungan Cyrus Network terhadap Jokowi
dilandasi oleh semangat idealisme (idealism driven consultant).
Dalam riset-riset terdahulu dinyatakan bahwa konsultan politik sangat dominan dalam
mencitrakan kandidat sehingga konsultan politik disemati dengan beragam profesi seperti
sebagai image merchants (Heibert, et al, 1971), arsitek kampanye dan ahli komunikasi politik
(Napolitan, 1972), professional image makers (Nimmo, 1976), issue primers (Medvic, 1997),
candidate marketers (Dulio, 2000), dan konsultan citra (image consultant) (Perloff, 2010).
Untuk kasus kampanye citra (image-making campaign) Jokowi, konsultan politik tidak
demikian. Jokowi sangat dominan dalam kampanye citranya, sehingga konsultan politik tidak
sama sekali memodifikasi citra politik Jokowi, tidak seperti Fauzi-Nara –di putaran kedua,
konsultan politiknya melakukan perubahan citra politik Fauzi misalnya dari gaya komunikasi
arogan menjadi santun. Komunikasi politik pencitraan Jokowi menggunakan pendekatan
alamian (natural approach). Jokowi adalah kandidat yang memiliki citra otentik (authentic
image). Jokowi adalah seorang kandidat yang memiliki kecerdasan dalam marketing politik,
public relations politik, manajemen isu politik, manajemen kesan politik, dan estetika
komunikasi politik. Produk-produk politik seperti baju kotak-kotak, salam metal, kampanye
blusukan, dll merupakan murni gagasan Jokowi sendiri, bukan konsultan politik. Ini semakin
menegaskan bahwa masa kampanye adalah masa penguatan citra politik bukan penciptaan
citra politik kandidat. Ini artinya bahwa selain terkait dengan kualitas personalitas, citra
politik kandidat tidak terlepas pada persoalan rekam jejak politik masa lalu kandidat –
kampanye permanen menjadi kunci pencitraan kandidat petahan. Kasus Jokowi semakin
menegaskan bahwa di era personalisasi politik, citra politik kandidat harus otentik bukan
kemasan. Di era personalisasi dan mediatisasi politik elektoral, otentisitas adalah kunci
efektivitas komunikasi politik pencitraan kandidat. Inilah yang penulis sebut dengan istilah
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authentic candidate theory. Konsultan politik hanya mengkomunikasikan otentisitas citra
kandidat. Dalam era personalisasi politik elektoral, konsultan politik hanya sebagai manajer
kampanye (campaign manager) dan penguat citra politik (political image reinforcer).
Temuan disertasi ini menjadi kritik terhadap deliberative priming theory (Medvic, 1997)
dimana sebagai primer atau issue chooser, konsultan politik merekayasa citra kandidat
melalui pemilihan isu politik. Selain itu juga, temuan riset ini menjadi kritik atas temuan dari
penelitian De Landtsheer, De Vries, dan Verstessen (2008:225) tentang penampilan politik
yang pantas (the appearance of political suitability) dalam manajemen kesan politik (political
impression management). Citra politik kandidat sangat bergantung pada kepantasan politik
dan ini terletak pada penampilan fisik kandidat. Oleh karennya, kandidat memungkinkan
untuk memanipulasi atau merekayasa penampilan fisiknya seperti yang diinginkan
(politically desirable).;
ABSTRACTThe research is a part of study of political communication that explains the imagemaking
of candidate in 2012 Jakarta Gubernatorial Elections, especially Jokowi. Jokowi’s
electoral triumph in 2012 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election is the most phenomenal –he is a
candidate from outside Jakarta who have been defeated the powerful incumbent candidates
Fauzi-Nara. Jokowi’s candidacy represents that Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) is as a consultant-centered and-market-oriented party –in the other words,
it is a professionalized party. Excellence of Jokowi’s grade in Opinion Leader Survey
findings (issued by Cyrus Network a political consultant firm, and Political Psychology
Laboratory of University of Indonesia) become as a main source of PDI-P’s policy in
nominating Jokowi as a gubernatorial candidate in 2012 Jakarta direct local elections. Jokowi
is a market-choice candidate. Jokowi is an ideal candidate who is believable to have the high
competence of leadership to lead the Jakarta province. The Cyrus Network and the Political
Psychology Laboratory of UI were political promoters or endorsers for Jokowi’s candidacy.
The profession made them as the makers of new tradition in the world of political
consultancy in Indonesia and the world wide –there is no publication of research of political
consultants in all the time that describes the political consultants as the candidate promoters
or endorsers. The Cyrus Network have broken the old tradition of political consultancy where
involvement of the consultants in elections were driven by the spirit of business –in the other
word, they are the market-driven consultants. Cyrus Network’s endorsement for Jokowi’s
candidacy was based by the spirit of political idealism –in the other words, it is an idealismdriven
consultant.
According the previous research of political consulting, the political consultants were
the most dominant in making candidates’ image. Therefore, political consultants’ profession
were as image merchants (Heibert, et al, 1971), campaign architects and experts of political
communication (Napolitan, 1972), professional image makers (Nimmo, 1976), issue primers
(Medvic, 1997), candidate marketers (Dulio, 2000) and image consultant (Perloff, 2010).
However for the case of Jokowi’s image-making campaign, it was different where the
political consultant was not dominant in modifying or reengineering. Jokowi’s political
image, not as the case of Fauzi-Nara –in the second round of the direct local elections, their
political consultants have been modified or reengineered their image, e.g. the political
consultant have modified Fauzi’s political style from arrogant to be polite. In the practice of
political communication of image making, Jokowi had used the natural approach that created
authentic image –in the other words, Jokowi was an authentic candidate. It was caused by
Jokowi’s intelligence in political marketing, political public relations, political issues
management, political impression management, and aesthetics of political communication.
All of Jokowi’s political products was his brilliant ideas e.g. “iconic” checkered shirt, metal
sign or greeting, “blusukan” (impromptu visits) campaign, etc, not the political consultants. It
argues that the campaign is a phase of political image reinforcement, not political image
formation. It explains to us that the politician’s past record is the key of successful of
candidate’s image formation –especially, the permanent campaign is the key success for the
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incumbents. In personalization era, the main factor of image making is authenticity, not
modifications or packaging as well as engineering. The authenticity is the main factor for
making political communication of candidate image-making more effective. So, the writer
calls it as the authentic candidate theory. The political consultants only communicate the
authenticity. In this era, they are just as the campaign manager and political image reinforcers
or sharpener. This research’s finding becomes as criticism for the deliberative priming theory
(Medvic, 1997) that explained political consultants as issue primers or choosers whose
political skill in engineering the candidate’s image through political issue priming. It is also
criticism for a research that is hold by De Landtsheer, De Vries, & Verstessen (2008). Their
research finding explains that the appearance of political suitability in political impression
management is rooted to candidate’s physical appearance. Therefore, it is possible to
manipulate the physical appearance of candidate in a “politically desirable” sense, The research is a part of study of political communication that explains the imagemaking
of candidate in 2012 Jakarta Gubernatorial Elections, especially Jokowi. Jokowi’s
electoral triumph in 2012 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election is the most phenomenal –he is a
candidate from outside Jakarta who have been defeated the powerful incumbent candidates
Fauzi-Nara. Jokowi’s candidacy represents that Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) is as a consultant-centered and-market-oriented party –in the other words,
it is a professionalized party. Excellence of Jokowi’s grade in Opinion Leader Survey
findings (issued by Cyrus Network a political consultant firm, and Political Psychology
Laboratory of University of Indonesia) become as a main source of PDI-P’s policy in
nominating Jokowi as a gubernatorial candidate in 2012 Jakarta direct local elections. Jokowi
is a market-choice candidate. Jokowi is an ideal candidate who is believable to have the high
competence of leadership to lead the Jakarta province. The Cyrus Network and the Political
Psychology Laboratory of UI were political promoters or endorsers for Jokowi’s candidacy.
The profession made them as the makers of new tradition in the world of political
consultancy in Indonesia and the world wide –there is no publication of research of political
consultants in all the time that describes the political consultants as the candidate promoters
or endorsers. The Cyrus Network have broken the old tradition of political consultancy where
involvement of the consultants in elections were driven by the spirit of business –in the other
word, they are the market-driven consultants. Cyrus Network’s endorsement for Jokowi’s
candidacy was based by the spirit of political idealism –in the other words, it is an idealismdriven
consultant.
According the previous research of political consulting, the political consultants were
the most dominant in making candidates’ image. Therefore, political consultants’ profession
were as image merchants (Heibert, et al, 1971), campaign architects and experts of political
communication (Napolitan, 1972), professional image makers (Nimmo, 1976), issue primers
(Medvic, 1997), candidate marketers (Dulio, 2000) and image consultant (Perloff, 2010).
However for the case of Jokowi’s image-making campaign, it was different where the
political consultant was not dominant in modifying or reengineering. Jokowi’s political
image, not as the case of Fauzi-Nara –in the second round of the direct local elections, their
political consultants have been modified or reengineered their image, e.g. the political
consultant have modified Fauzi’s political style from arrogant to be polite. In the practice of
political communication of image making, Jokowi had used the natural approach that created
authentic image –in the other words, Jokowi was an authentic candidate. It was caused by
Jokowi’s intelligence in political marketing, political public relations, political issues
management, political impression management, and aesthetics of political communication.
All of Jokowi’s political products was his brilliant ideas e.g. “iconic” checkered shirt, metal
sign or greeting, “blusukan” (impromptu visits) campaign, etc, not the political consultants. It
argues that the campaign is a phase of political image reinforcement, not political image
formation. It explains to us that the politician’s past record is the key of successful of
candidate’s image formation –especially, the permanent campaign is the key success for the
Universitas Indonesia
incumbents. In personalization era, the main factor of image making is authenticity, not
modifications or packaging as well as engineering. The authenticity is the main factor for
making political communication of candidate image-making more effective. So, the writer
calls it as the authentic candidate theory. The political consultants only communicate the
authenticity. In this era, they are just as the campaign manager and political image reinforcers
or sharpener. This research’s finding becomes as criticism for the deliberative priming theory
(Medvic, 1997) that explained political consultants as issue primers or choosers whose
political skill in engineering the candidate’s image through political issue priming. It is also
criticism for a research that is hold by De Landtsheer, De Vries, & Verstessen (2008). Their
research finding explains that the appearance of political suitability in political impression
management is rooted to candidate’s physical appearance. Therefore, it is possible to
manipulate the physical appearance of candidate in a “politically desirable” sense]"
