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aving garnered the majority of support from the party’s cadres, newly-appointed Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto seems only to be waiting for the party to inaugurate him at the extraordianary congress this week.

Yet, the industry minister deserves to be worried about whether his inauguration will run smoothly, after a Golkar central executive board meeting on Sunday decided to allow room for competitors to challenge Airlangga’s chairmanship bid.

With all things now possible, Airlangga might also have to compete with a member of the “Cendana family” of former president Soeharto, the longest serving-ruler in the country’s history, for the position.

Soeharto’s daughter, Siti Hedijati “Titiek” Soeharto, recently declared her intention to compete for Golkar’s top post, claiming that many people wanted to see the Cendana family return to lead the party.

“If, in the future, [the public decides to] place confidence in us, of course we have to make the party move forward. Many people want Golkar to return to its child,” Titiek said on Dec. 9.

Soeharto was the central figure in the party when he ruled the country for more than three decades under an authoritarian regime. Since his fall, Golkar has, however, tried to change its image as Soeharto’s political
vehicle.

Last Wednesday, Golkar’s executive board appointed Airlangga as party chairman after removing Setya Novanto, who is now a graft defendant.

The board since planned to inaugurate Airlangga at an extraordinary congress, which is slated to be held from Monday until Wednesday.

Golkar initially considered confirming Airlangga as the chairman by acclamation at the congress. However, the party later decided to open the position up to competition to maintain a democratic image.

Since then, Titiek has said nothing on whether she still wants to join the race.

Titiek did not respond to The Jakarta Post’s message or phone call on Sunday.

However, several of Golkar’s top members, who requested anonymity, said that Titiek planned to contest and would likely be backed by Aburizal Bakrie, a former party chairman.

“I heard so, but we’ll see the political dynamics later,” said one of the politicians.

Aburizal previously touted Setya loyalist Aziz Syamsuddin as a chairman candidate, before Aziz recently decided to pull out of the race.

Golkar executive Freddy Latumahina, known as a figure close to Aburizal, played down the speculation and said that Titiek was eyeing the party’s chairmanship contest in 2019, instead.

“She is preparing herself for the 2019 chairmanship race,” Freddy said.

Speculation, however, has been rife that any of Airlangga’s contenders will likely fail.

“Although we are opening it up [to competition], those who know politics and how to read the situation will not challenge [Airlangga]. The deal is clear: We will appoint Airlangga,” secretary-general Idrus Marham said.

However, things could still change, with the result of Sunday’s meeting to be discussed further at a national leadership meeting on Monday, only hours before the congress begins.

Furthermore, should Airlangga be inaugurated at the congress, the party will also decide whether he will take office until 2019 or 2022, an issue that has also divided factions within Golkar.

One camp has suggested that Airlangga should lead the party for the five next years, until 2022; while another faction wants him to lead the party only until 2019, the same as Setya’s tenure.

Airlangga appeared confident that he would soon take the party’s helm, claiming he had secured support from all of the party’s 34 provincial branches.

He has been preparing to rearrange the formation of the central board and will reportedly oust Setya loyalists.

“We’re talking about a revitalization of the management board, ahead of the regional and legislative elections. This is all for the sake of the 2019 elections,” Airlangga said.

On Sunday, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, a party member previously fired by Setya for criticism, was officially welcomed back to the party. Doli has declared his support for Airlangga.