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Family clout could sway PAN chairmanship race
The battle this weekend for the National Mandate Party (PAN) chairmanship between incumbent leader Hatta Rajasa and Zulkifli Hasan will be watched closely by two prominent politicians with family ties to the two candidates and definite skin in the game
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he battle this weekend for the National Mandate Party (PAN) chairmanship between incumbent leader Hatta Rajasa and Zulkifli Hasan will be watched closely by two prominent politicians with family ties to the two candidates and definite skin in the game.
Hatta is an in-law of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, while Zulkifli, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, is an in-law of Amien Rais, the party's chief patron.
'I believe the fact that Amien is one of the founding members of PAN plays an important role here. His ideas might be in line with other party members,' Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) researcher Arya Fernandes told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
On the other hand, while Yudhoyono was the most powerful man in the country for a decade, he does not have the kind of authority in PAN that Amien does, Arya said.
'It's just a coincidence that SBY is Hatta's in-law. He doesn't have a direct influence on PAN's elite members, unlike Amien,' he said.
Hatta's campaign team member, Bogor Mayor Bima Arya, also acknowledged Amien's influence as a boon to Zulkifli's chance of winning, saying that Amien remained a respected figure in the party.
Arya, however, said that the success of the two candidates' bids would hinge on their own qualities.
'The competition is centered on these two figures,' he said. 'While Amien and SBY have a certain influence, it's not as important as [the differences between] Hatta and Zulkifli themselves.'
In a joint study conducted by CSIS and Cyrus Network, Hatta is forecast to beat Zulkifli, with the majority of local-branch PAN leaders preferring Hatta for a second term.
The survey found that Hatta had secured support from 42.8 percent of the 484 PAN leaders at the regency and municipal levels, while Zulkifli was supported by 38.6 percent of respondents.
The study, however, also found that Hatta, the former running mate of Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra Party during the 2014 presidential election, and Zulkifli, were in a virtual dead heat for support from party leaders at the provincial level.
Both Hatta and Zulkifli got 38.2 percent of votes from 56 leaders in 28 provinces. Therefore, Arya said, the race was still up for grabs.
'Anything could happen. Each candidate could get a boost in support. The deciding factor will be the rest of the votes in the survey that went to PAN deputy chairman Dradjad Wibowo, PAN deputy secretary-general Viva Yoga Mauladi and PAN secretary-general Taufik Kurniawan,' he said.
Drajad received support from 2.27 percent of the respondents, followed by Taufik with 0.62 percent and Viva with 0.41 percent.
The fact that the two candidates have family ties to two prominent politicians will also have an impact on the future of the country's political landscape.
