Democrat...or Boss?

What gets to the heart of Wahid's predicament is his having brought the habits of the pesantren into the presidential palace. The mystic's tendency to laugh in the face of human vanity, highbrow idealism and the autocratic manner of the senior kyais--all these traits bewilder many of his staff. "Gus Dur is committed to democracy in principle, but he is not a democrat himself. He is a 'Gus' [a title given only to high-level kyai. Dur is a contraction of his given name, Abdurrahman]," says Nurcholish Madjid, rector of Paramadina Mulya University. "That implies a kind of immunity."

But Wahid is not immune to political barbs. Opposition politicians are calling for the President to submit to an independent medical exam, intimating that he is mentally incapable. Others are threatening to start impeachment proceedings at a parliament session in August.

Since there are few viable alternatives to his leadership, Wahid is expected to survive for the time being. However, as a "player in a larger story that [he] doesn't control," he is in danger of slipping backward, into the dark, corrupt, nepotistic ways of Suharto's Indonesia. If that happens, not even the strongest soothsayers will be able to protect him.

--With reporting by Zamira Loebis/Jombang and Jason Tedjasukmana/Jakarta