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ewly elected Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto has a string of alleged graft cases in tow, which comes as a surprise to no one. But, that may be exactly the kind of figure President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his inner-circle are most comfortable with.

A figure at whom they can crack the whip to serve their interest in acquiring greater political support and leverage, as Golkar is the country’s second-biggest party after Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Keeping Setya and Golkar’s other old guards in power and preventing them from being prosecuted for various cases from their pasts come at an enormous price.

Not only has Golkar officially quit the Red-and-White opposition camp and pledged its allegiance to Jokowi’s ruling coalition, it has even extended its support to Jokowi for the 2019 presidential election.

Such an accord, written and documented during the party’s recent extraordinary congress in Bali, is at least comforting for the President, particularly when the PDI-P often behaves as if in opposition to rather than in alliance with the President.

With Golkar and its problematic leadership in tow, Jokowi’s ruling coalition currently wields enormous power, having secured 69 percent of seats in the House of Representatives – up from 40 percent a year ago. Aside from Golkar, the coalition also recently received a boost from defecting opposition parties the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Development Party (PPP).

While it is difficult to dismiss Jokowi and his inner-circle as having no hand in this encroachment on the autonomy of Golkar, founded by dictator Soeharto more than half-a-century ago, the quest to have someone “controllable” leading Golkar has been a priority.

Around a year ago, Setya was not even in the President’s equation after a public display of affection between Jokowi and Golkar top-brass Ade Komarudin stunned many of the political elite, given the party’s apparent stance as leader of the opposition camp.

Jokowi also regularly attended functions held by the Central Organization for Indonesian Employees (SOKSI), a Golkar institution that Ade chaired and where around half of the party’s legislators maintain memberships.

The cozy relationship was extended when Ade and his supporters lent their support to Jokowi’s administration. They refused, however, to join the camp of senior Golkar politician Agung Laksono in its attempts to oust then party chairman Aburizal Bakrie and turn the party’s course toward joining Jokowi’s coalition.

Amid the leadership tussle, Ade managed to keep the troubles away for Jokowi at the House of Representatives, where he was then chairman of the Golkar faction with then House speaker Setya among his patrons.

It came as no surprise that when Setya was forced to resign as House speaker late last year, Ade stepped in as his replacement. The case forcing Setya’s resignation revolved around a recording of a meeting getting leaked by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, who claimed the leak had been approved by Jokowi.

The recording allegedly revealed Setya falsely invoking the President’s name to acquire shares in mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia.

After fighting his way out of the incident, Setya threw in the towel and resigned. But the incident had little impact on Setya’s political career as he then assumed the leadership of Golkar’s House faction, the prestigious position previously held by Ade.

With the House speaker job in hand coupled with support from Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarmo — among Jokowi’s few trusted aides — all roads between Ade and clinching the Golkar chairmanship looked paved and secured.

But things turned south in late April when several legislators revealed that Ade had fallen out of favor with Jokowi for various reasons and that the President had apparently realized it was in his best interests to see Golkar led by a problematic figure who could be easily co-opted.

For Jokowi, supporting Ade may be similar to having a tiger cub as pet; the older the tiger gets the greater the risk it will bite the hand that feeds it. Unlike Setya, who has a penchant for “paying” for everything in order to get his way, Ade garners support and loyalty by maintaining friendships and extending favors, earning him a pool of loyalists in the House and in the provinces.

Among the indications Jokowi was favoring Setya for the Golkar leadership was the President allowing Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, a senior Golkar politician and a close friend of Setya, to fly to the party congress in Bali on Sunday to assist Setya with his campaign for the election on Tuesday.

Similar privilege, however, was not extended to Kalla, former Golkar chairman who had openly voiced his support for Ade. Jokowi ordered Kalla not to fly to Bali to celebrate his 74th birthday with his grandchildren on Sunday to prevent him from helping Ade consolidate power.

Jokowi, prior to flying to South Korea on Sunday, gave Kalla “urgent tasks” making his presence in Jakarta a necessity.

Setya’s accession to the chairmanship and Aburizal’s continued influence in Golkar after being named chairman of the party’s board of patrons, has no doubt impacted the corridors of power at the Presidential Palace.

Since Jokowi took office in October 2014, the dissenting circle of influence in the Cabinet has mostly hinged on Kalla, Luhut and Rini, each with their own political leverage and supporters.

With his friends Setya and Aburizal having a firmer grip on Golkar, Luhut is definitely the winner in the recent power play, outmaneuvering Kalla and Rini, who both placed their bets on Ade.

Although Luhut now has a stronger position, alongside Golkar, from which to block Kalla’s agenda in the House, there is no guarantee that Kalla will easily concede defeat.

Kalla is still in favor with PDI-P chairwoman and Jokowi’s patron Megawati Soekarnoputri, and the NasDem Party, whose founder Surya Paloh is Kalla’s close associate. Several elements in Golkar also remain loyal to Kalla.

Golkar’s pledge of allegiance to the ruling coalition will ensure stable and cordial relations between the government and the House, but at some point it may exacerbate rivalry between the big shots and their supporting ministers in the Cabinet.
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The author is a staff writer with The Jakarta Post