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No deal yet for Jokowi, Ical
Breaking the ice: President-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie bid farewell after a closed-door meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday
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span class="caption">Breaking the ice: President-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (left) and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie bid farewell after a closed-door meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Less than a week before his inauguration, president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo held a meeting on Tuesday with Golkar Party chairman Aburizal 'Ical' Bakrie; the first of several that he plans to have with other party leaders from the rival Red-and-White Coalition, including defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra Party.
Speaking after the meeting, Jokowi said no deal had been struck with Aburizal.
He only stated that on the issue of a possible coalition, Aburizal had said he would maintain the party's position within the Red-and-White Coalition.
'I asked him about the coalition, and he said Golkar would remain in the KMP,' Jokowi said, referring to the acronym for the Red-and-White Coalition. Jokowi, however, hinted that Golkar may change its position in the future.
'That's his answer today. We can't know what his answer will be next week or next month,' Jokowi said with a chuckle.
The meeting took place at the Kunskring art gallery in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
Aburizal, who referred to Jokowi as his 'best friend', said during the press briefing after Jokowi had spoken that he had reiterated his coalition's commitment to working with Jokowi's administration, despite its defeat in the July 9 presidential election.
'We will act as a counterweight to the [new] administration, not an opposing role. Opposition means we would go against everything [the administration] does, but we won't take that road. We will support everything that's good and talk with them about things that we consider inappropriate,' Aburizal said.
He also said that neither he nor other Golkar executives had been offered ministerial posts by Jokowi, adding that if any Golkar members were appointed as ministers, they would not be representing the party.
Jokowi also shrugged off claims that his move to have his own meeting with Aburizal and leaders of parties in the Red-and-White Coalition was decided after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) successively failed to lobby them on several occasions, including most recently during the race for the House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) leadership votes.
'It doesn't work like that. The [PDI-P] secretary-general had already done a lot of things. I just needed to meet with Pak ARB,' he said, referring to Aburizal's initials, adding that he would contact other Red-and-White Coalition party leaders to meet with him.
When asked whether or not he would also meet with Prabowo, Jokowi declined to respond.
One of the deputies of his transition team, Andi Widjajanto, said there was a possibility Jokowi would meet with Prabowo in the near future.
'We will work to make the meeting with Pak Prabowo possible,' Andi said. He added, however, that Prabowo's camp had not yet responded to the meeting request.
Jokowi is also scheduled to meet with the embattled chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), Suryadharma Ali, and outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his capacity as chairman of the Democratic Party.
'We have contacted Pak Suryadharma. As for Pak SBY, the meeting is scheduled for this Saturday,' Andi said.
PDI-P deputy secretary-general Ahmad Basarah applauded Jokowi's overture toward Aburizal and other party leaders in the Red-and-White Coalition, saying it was a necessary step for Jokowi to prove that he could act above politics, and that he would not be a leader who was only supported by a handful of parties.
'Political party leaders should respond positively to Jokowi's efforts,' he said, adding that such initiatives could help him deal with the House, which is now dominated by the Red-and-White Coalition.
Basarah also denied that the PDI-P leadership had not consented to the meeting.
'[The meeting] proves that Jokowi has good leadership qualities and is capable of communicating well,' he said.
Meanwhile, Indra J. Piliang, head of Golkar's research and development division, said Golkar could only join Jokowi's coalition if a rival camp within the party assumed the party leadership from Aburizal in a national congress, which is scheduled for early next year.
'There is a 50-percent chance that Golkar will change its stance after the national congress,' he said.
Indra said Golkar's membership within the Red-and-White Coalition would be short-lived, given the absence of support at the grassroots level.
'Several Golkar politicians serve as regents and mayors in the regions, and they think they are part of the government and they believe, therefore, they should back the government,' he said.
