T

he chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto said Wednesday he would be willing to step away from politics if his presidential bid was not successful.

'€œIf the people need me, I am ready to serve. Otherwise, I am ready to step aside,'€ Prabowo told a public lecture attended by students and professors at the University of Indonesia (UI) campus in Depok, West Java on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The former commander of the Army'€™s Special Forces (Kopassus) maintained that his political aspirations had no ulterior motives and that his decision to enter the presidential race was motivated by his concern over the country'€™s dire economic situation.

Prabowo promised that if he were elected president he would fix the country'€™s economy by reducing graft and wasteful spending so the government could create more jobs and turn the country around.

He also promised to make the country self-sufficient in energy and food.

'€œI believe that not all problems can be solved in five years, but we will first stop the budget leakage,'€ he said.

Although the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) had yet to officially endorse his candidacy, the nomination looks certain.

However, Prabowo'€™s presidential ambitions could run into troubles if his party fails to garner 25 percent of the popular vote nationwide, the benchmark for a political party to be able to nominate its own candidate.

Several surveys indicated that Prabowo is one of the 2014 presidential election forerunners.

Apparently confident of his chances, Prabowo went on to give details about his possible running mate.

'€œI will be looking for a figure who will be able, experienced and committed to serving Indonesia and has a clean track record. He must also be honest, adhere to Pancasila and be a nationalist,'€ Prabowo said.

Prabowo declined to comment if a 2009 deal between Gerindra and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) could be a stumbling block for his candidacy, saying '€œlet it be resolved, later, in time, between the leaders'€.

The PDI-P leadership has insisted that there would be no such deal.

PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri teamed up with Prabowo for the presidential election in 2009, but lost to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate, the current vice president, Boediono.

The 2009 deal was also believed to have been behind Gerindra'€™s decision to support Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo in the Jakarta gubernatorial race last year, in which Jokowi was paired with Gerindra'€™s Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama.

In recent months, Jokowi has topped a number of public opinion polls, leaving Prabowo in his shadow.

Analysts predict that Prabowo would lose if Jokowi were to be nominated by the PDI-P.

Political analyst from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Ari Dwipayana said that said that Prabowo would not give up his presidential ambitions easily.

Ari said that Prabowo was confident that a large number of voters would support him.

'€œI don'€™t think he will quit anytime soon, not now, 2014 will be his last battle and he has the potential for a large portion of the vote,'€ Ari said. '€œMoreover, such a deal with the PDI-P would have had certain conditions and it was made before 2009. Maybe the situation has changed.'€