T

he ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) could exercise more influence in the inner circle of President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo with the appointment of one of its senior politicians, Pramono Anung Wibowo, as the new Cabinet Secretary, a position many believe is a gateway to reach the President.

Pramono, a former lawmaker from the House of Representatives'€™ Commission I on defense and foreign affairs, will replace Andi Widjajanto, whom the PDI-P has accused of intentionally blocking the party'€™s access to Jokowi.

PDI-P politicians had repeatedly called for Andi'€™s dismissal prior to Jokowi'€™s announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle last Wednesday, believing that the defense expert had caused a communication breakdown between the two sides.

'€œThe communication problem that happened between us and the President was due to Andi Widjajanto'€™s lack of knowledge about the culture of the PDI-P,'€ party executive Hendrawan Supratikno told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Hendrawan expressed his confidence that the troubled times when the PDI-P lacked access to Jokowi would recede following Pramono'€™s appointment.

He was confident that Pramono'€™s deft communication skills and his knowledge about the PDI-P'€™s inner workings could easily bring about a thaw in the relationship.

Hendrawan said that Pramono had accumulated years of experience in handling high level politics, which, according to the Hendrawan, would undoubtedly help build '€œbetter lines of communication'€.

Before joining the House of Representatives in 2009 and again in 2014, Pramono was the PDI-P'€™s deputy secretary-general in 2000 and later secretary-general in 2005.

A respected figure in the House, Pramono played a role in reconciling a dispute involving the ruling Great Indonesia Coalition and the opposing Red-and-White Coalition over chairmanship positions within the legislative institution during the early days of the 2014-2019 House term.

'€œPak Pramono is part of us. He knows the party well. Our communication [with Jokowi] will definitely improve with him as Cabinet Secretary,'€ Hendrawan said.

Fellow PDI-P politician Sukur Nababan concurred, saying that Pramono had competence in handling the kind of administrative issues that have plagued the Presidential Palace. Nababan cited the recent example of the inefficient process that led to the inauguration of former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso as head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

'€œIt has nothing to do with Pramono being a member of the PDI-P. We hope that yesterday'€™s Cabinet reshuffle was designed to improve the government'€™s performance so that the President could fulfil his campaign promises,'€ Sukur said on Friday.

Analysts however, were divided over what would happen to the future relationship between Jokowi and the PDI-P following Pramono'€™s appointment.

A senior political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Syamsuddin Haris, said that the PDI-P would benefit from the inclusion of Pramono in the cabinet. With the presence of Pramono, the PDI-P gains a seat, while the Nasdem Party has one of its cadres removed from office,'€ he said on Friday. '€œAll of this will improve relations between Jokowi and his party.'€

However, Yunarto Wijaya of the Jakarta-based Charta Political said that the fate of the Presidential Chief Office, which is temporarily led by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, would influence communication between Jokowi and the PDI-P.

'€œNothing will change if it [the Presidential Chief Office is maintained]. It would be different if the office were to be merged with the Cabinet Secretary Office. If so, it'€™s inevitable for the public to assume that the PDI-P has finally secured power within the palace'€™s inner circle,'€ he said.