The fall of Indonesia’s New Order regime set the stage for more competitive elections, but not necessarily for more competitive elites. Party and military leaders have primarily responded to democratic transition by sharing power rather than competing for it, especially by ensuring that all major political groupings enjoy lucrative and powerful positions in the cabinet. The recent introduction of direct presidential elections has inadvertently threatened to unsettle this cozy and collusive elite arrangement—but only at the risk of restoring dangerous patterns of presidential domination.