Editorial: Cabinet reshuffle

The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 02/25/2009 9:43 AM  |  Opinion

What kind of leadership must President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono show when his closest partner in the government Vice President Jusuf Kalla has decided to become his contender in the July presidential election and his ministers, who come from different political parties, are clearly more loyal to their parties than to their boss in the Cabinet? Despite their repeated assurances, we can say it is impossible to hope the Cabinet will remain effective when the ministers and Kalla now have dual loyalty. They may become parasites in the government.

The President must have the courage to reshuffle his Cabinet so that only non-partisan ministers will stay to help him lead the country until the Cabinet term expires in October. The fate of the nation is at stake if he does not have the nerve to take drastic measures to prevent his government from becoming a lame duck administration. And it is important for Kalla to demonstrate his statesmanship by following in the footsteps of Mohammad Hatta, who resigned as vice president when he thought he could no longer tolerate his differences with President Sukarno.

Both Yudhoyono and Kalla have assured the nation that the government will remain solid although it is very likely that Kalla will challenge Yudhoyono both in the legislative election in April and especially in the presidential election in July. SBY’s Democratic Party (PD) and the Golkar Party, which is chaired by Kalla, will compete in the April election. Cabinet members, who come from different political parties, have also boasted that their loyalty to the President remains 100 percent, although their parties will rival the PD in the elections.

According to presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, the President was concerned about the unity of his administration and called on the Vice President to stay focused on his state duties until the end of their term on Oct. 20, despite his political ambitions. For a Javanese, an ethnicity which Kalla does not share, Yudhoyono’s message will be read as a request for Kalla to behave. Yudhoyono cannot openly ask Kalla to resign for the sake of Cabinet unity as the two were democratically elected by the people.

Perhaps Kalla is unable to decode Yudhoyono’s delicate message, but by moral standards he has no reason to stay with the current administration. How can Kalla pledge loyalty to Yudhoyono while at the same time prepare to depose his boss in the election?

As the classic political adage says, there are no permanent friends or foes but only permanent interests. Yudhoyono and Kalla were united by common interests, which have now lost their relevance.

The prominent slogan “Together we can” that inspired the tandem of Yudhoyono and Kalla to win the 2004 election cannot hold anymore. The two cannot be together anymore, unless Kalla retracts his presidential bid, which is almost impossible.

The Kalla case serves as a lesson for other Cabinet members who may aspire to the presidency or wish for more power for their party. They must leave the Cabinet if they dare to challenge Yudhoyono for the sake of the unity of his administration. It is better for the next administration, too, to put an end to the complicated consequences of “coalition government” by appointing technocrats to fill the Cabinet posts.

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