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The kingmakers
PDI-P chairwoman Megawati SoekarnoputriMegawati, 66, was not convinced when businessman Sofjan Wanandi, on behalf of Jusuf Kalla, proposed Jokowi as the PDI-Pâs gubernatorial candidate
P
strong>PDI-P chairwoman
Megawati Soekarnoputri
Megawati, 66, was not convinced when businessman Sofjan Wanandi, on behalf of Jusuf Kalla, proposed Jokowi as the PDI-P's gubernatorial candidate.
'She said Jokowi did not have the right looks to take on Jakarta, and that nobody knew him in Jakarta,' recalled Sofjan.
The proposal apparently came at a tricky moment as Megawati's husband, the late Taufik Kiemas, had pledged the PDI-P ticket to incumbent Fauzi Bowo, who had been endorsed by the Democratic Party.
Megawati eventually made a decision after widespread protests against Yudhoyono's plan to raise fuel prices in March 2012 in front of the House of Representatives.
Megawati, whose party rejected the government's fuel plan, eventually refused to join the Democratic Party in supporting Fauzi.
Kalla then lobbied Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto to join the boat.
Support from Prabowo, Megawati's running mate in the 2009 presidential election, was needed to pass the electoral threshold of 15 percent of the seats in City Council.
It was not until Prabowo insisted that Megawati finally agreed to back Jokowi.
As calls for Jokowi to run for president have mounted, Megawati remains indecisive.
Several PDI-P politicians believe Megawati is gauging Jokowi's loyalty, since he did not become a PDI-P member until 2005, when he served as Surakarta mayor.
Housing Minister
Djan Faridz
Djan, 63, is known by many titles. He is a Jakarta property kingpin, a National Development Party (PPP) politician and one of the Democratic Party's financial backers. His iconic landmark is Blok A in Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, Southeast Asia's largest textile market.
Sources at the House of Representatives have attributed Djan's dispute with an ally, then Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo, as the catalyst that paved the way for Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's endorsement as a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate in 2012.
The dispute prompted Djan to find a worthy candidate to take on Fauzi in the election.
It was not until a discussion with former vice president Jusuf Kalla that Djan finally agreed to have Jokowi, then Surakarta mayor, promoted nationwide to become a gubernatorial candidate in 2011.
While Djan refused to comment on the issue, Kalla confirmed the selection process.
After securing the gubernatorial post, Jokowi's relation with Djan turned sour after the governor decided to
end the concession of Djan's company in Tanah Abang. This is the contentious issue that ignited Djan's row with Fauzi in the first place.
Former vice president
Jusuf Kalla
Kalla, 71, is the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). His activities within the organization led to him becoming acquainted with Jokowi in 2011. His instinct that Jokowi was a potential leader was proven to be right.
Kalla, who felt that Jokowi's personality could sell in Jakarta, started a campaign to promote Jokowi at the national level while lobbying Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to endorse his gubernatorial candidacy.
'He (Jokowi) has shown his success in Surakarta, so I guess he deserves a chance on the national stage,' said Kalla.
His effort paid off, with Jokowi emerging victorious. His leadership in Jakarta further boosted his popularity to such an extent that he is considered a frontrunner in the 2014 presidential election.
While the extent of the relationship between Kalla and Jokowi is somewhat vague, Kalla has hinted of his intention to pair with Jokowi if he is eventually endorsed by the PDI-P as its presidential candidate.
On another occasion, Kalla's business empire, the Hadji Kalla Group, expressed disappointment after losing out in a bid against the Ortus Group, controlled by Edward Soeryadjaya, whose wife has close ties to Jokowi, to construct the Jakarta monorail.
Gerindra chief patron
Prabowo Subianto
It was Prabowo, 62, who finally persuaded Megawati to endorse Jokowi.
A source familiar with the matter said that Prabowo had agreed to support Jokowi on the condition that the candidate for deputy governor should be of Chinese ethnicity.
Prabowo, according to the source, needed to eliminate the anti-Chinese label he had earned after allegations that he had masterminded the 1998 riots that left hundreds of ethnic Chinese dead. Prabowo has refused to comment on the issue.
Kalla eventually proposed Golkar politician Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama for the deputy post, which was agreed upon on the condition that Ahok jump ship to Gerindra.
Relations between Jokowi and Prabowo remain warm despite surveys that consistently position Jokowi on ahead of Prabowo as the presidential frontrunner.
However, ties between the PDI-P and Gerindra turned sour in late 2012, after the latter claimed it had made a bigger contribution to Jokowi winning the Jakarta election.
Megawati implicitly vented her anger toward Prabowo in a speech in October 2012, saying that 'freeloaders tried to take advantage of the (Jokowi) victory without realizing in the slightest that it was morally wrong.'
- Sita W. Dewi and Kusumasari Ayuningtyas
