ABSTRACT
As we are now turning towards the attitudinal/external dimension of Randall and Svåsand’s institutionalization model, it is fair to start by hypothesizing that Golkar should be fairly well institutionalized in this final dimension. With a history dating back to the 1960s the party has certainly had ample opportunity to establish itself as a household name in the political mindset of the Indonesian public. Moreover, if history alone is not enough, then Golkar’s hegemonic status during the New Order, with all the privileges this involved, should have ensured Golkar extremely high levels of name recognition. And indeed, survey data from the early days of the post-Suharto period supports the assumption that Golkar is a very well-known party in Indonesia. When the country held elections in 1999 around 90 per cent of the population was aware of Golkar as a political party (IFES 1999a, 1999b).1 Clearly, these figures indicate that at the beginning of the reformasi era the former regime party was deeply ingrained in the public imagination.
