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Gerindra, PDI-P tangled in complicated relationship
The Gerindra Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have not seen eye to eye in recent weeks due to the intense rivalry between their two key figures
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he Gerindra Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have not seen eye to eye in recent weeks due to the intense rivalry between their two key figures.
Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto and Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, who is also the PDI-P presidential candidate, are set to face off against one another for the presidency this year, should their respective parties win enough votes or establish a solid coalition with other parties.
Prabowo has not held back on showing the PDI-P and Jokowi what he thinks of them. As an example, Prabowo revealed a backroom political deal in 2009 to show the PDI-P's lack of loyalty, since the agreement stipulated it should have backed Gerindra for his presidential bid rather than that of Jokowi.
Prabowo also called on the public to not elect a 'puppet president', a reference many believe to be aimed at Jokowi.
What Prabowo has done is common in politics because, after all, the strongest candidate standing between him and the power to rule 240 million Indonesians is Jokowi, a popular figure due to his clean track record and humble personality.
However, politics always has a way of providing surprises.
A source, who insisted on remaining anonymous but who is close to Gerindra's internal matters, revealed that, behind closed doors, both Gerindra and the PDI-P had maintained communication to establish a coalition to rule the country both at the executive and legislative levels for the 2014-2019 administration.
The source said Prabowo's younger brother and Gerindra deputy chief patron Hashim Djojohadikusumo had met with PDI-P chair Megawati Soekarnoputri to offer Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama as the running mate of Jokowi in the presidential election. 'The meeting took place about a month ago,' the source told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said that during the meeting, both Hashim and Megawati agreed that the most logical move for both parties was to establish a coalition.
'Megawati knows she cannot rely on building a coalition with the Golkar Party because history shows that this party likes to change its stance based on its own vested interests. On the other hand, a coalition with the Democratic Party is also out of the question as this party will not be a significant force in the next term,' the source said.
'So, the only logical option is to build a coalition with Gerindra. The PDI-P believes it can only garner 31 percent of the vote at the most in the legislative election. Establishing a coalition with a top party is a must to safeguard its political interests at the House of Representatives ' and that party is Gerindra.'
The agreement on the planned coalition is supposedly to take place after the legislative elections have been completed and its results have been officially compiled, according to the source.
'Hashim knows that realistically, the PDI-P will win the legislative election. Therefore, he proposed Ahok to become Jokowi's running mate, after Megawati officially appointed the PDI-P presidential candidate after the legislative election,' he said.
'Hashim loves his brother [Prabowo] so much and he does not want Prabowo to lose his dignity by only being Jokowi's running mate. That's why Ahok has been proposed. By doing this, Hashim has placed Prabowo as a leader willing to put his ego aside to let Ahok run with Jokowi as a symbol of leadership in Indonesia,'
'That was the ideal scenario, if only Megawati had stuck to her promise to announce Jokowi's candidacy after the legislative election. However, she succumbed to the pressure of the pro-Jokowi faction in the PDI-P and made the announcement sooner than expected. This disappointed Prabowo,' he added.
This led to Prabowo launching negative statements at the PDI-P and Jokowi. Realizing the apparent fall out, Ahok then reportedly tried to play the role of peacemaker between Prabowo and Megawati.
'Ahok issued statements defending Jokowi without attacking Prabowo as a political signal to Megawati. Ahok is basically sending a signal saying he can be trusted by both sides and he is the only one that the PDI-P can use to tame Gerindra at the House during the next administration,' the source said.
In response to the issue, PDI-P deputy secretary-general Hasto Kristianto said the PDI-P had always maintained good political communication with Gerindra but the situation had changed after Jokowi had been officially nominated.
'We have no idea why Gerindra sees Jokowi's nomination as a sign for full blown competition. We could've had a discussion on possible cooperation or a healthy competition of ideas on how to develop the nation,' Hasto said.
'Instead, we see blatant attacks on us after Jokowi's nomination. After all these attacks, we would need to really reconsider it if they wanted to establish a coalition with us in the future. We would need to take the feelings of our grassroots into account,' he added.
Hasto said despite such attacks from Prabowo and Gerindra, he appreciated Ahok's neutral attitude toward Megawati, Jokowi and the PDI-P.
'What Ahok has shown is his leadership class and his emotional bond with Ibu Mega and Jokowi,' Hasto said.
