POLITICS IN General Soeharto's New Order over the past decade have been increasingly analyzed in terms of latent or impending crises threatening the survival of the regime. The list of advertised apocalyptic crises was swelled in May and June 1980 by news that a "constitutional coup d'etat" had been attempted, accompanied by plans to assassinate the president and 75 other leaders. Yet, despite all the speculaions on the regime's stability, political conflict in Indonesia has not escalated to the extent that would seriously imperil Soeharto's position. This article, using the "May 1980 crisis" as an illustration, will attempt to establish how the perceptions of crises develop and are manipulated, discuss the dimensions of both support for and opposition to the regime, and offer some predictions for the future of the New Order.