Unfortunately such blatant shows of force have involved the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the ruling party that always portrays itself as the representative of the wong cilik (ordinary people).

The PDI-P began to beat the drums of the “election war” last week. The party’s senior executives openly humiliated one of its own popular members, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who according to some opinion surveys is one of the most electable candidates to succeed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, by excluding him from the list of attendants of a party function held in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang. The motive behind the public shaming was probably to make sure Ganjar or any other potential contender will exit before the race starts.

The PDI-P elite said Ganjar was not invited because he was too ambitious to run for the presidency. In her opening remarks at the event in Semarang, PDI-P deputy chair Puan Maharani clearly criticized Ganjar for doing little work on the ground while preferring activities on social media.

The presidential threshold allows the PDI-P to nominate a ticket in the 2024 race without having to form a coalition, unlike the other parties.

Puan’s open and harsh rebuke of Ganjar has attracted nationwide attention. While Puan has never openly expressed her personal political ambition, having held several public posts such as House of Representatives member, Cabinet minister and currently the House speaker, it is natural that she would aspire to climb the ladder either as president or at least vice president. Her path toward the coveted posts looks easy, because her mother, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, holds almost absolute power within the party.

The danger of Puan’s maneuver, however, is that it may hurt the party’s own grassroots supporters who lean toward Ganjar as a deserving candidate. Divisions within the party will loom just as it needs to consolidate more than ever.

The reprimanding of Ganjar has revealed the PDI-P elite’s allergy toward dissenting views, if not of the aspirations of its constituents and the public at large. The PDI-P is not alone in this regard, as most political parties tend to fight for the interests of their elites rather than those of the people, as evident in a number of controversial laws passed in the last few years.

In the case of the PDI-P, the party elites resisted the nomination of Jokowi as Jakarta gubernatorial candidate in 2012 and as presidential candidate in 2014, until Megawati decided otherwise and proved herself right.

The legislative and presidential elections are about three years away. Those who think they are the best candidates for the legislative and presidential posts need only to prove their merits by doing their best to help the nation through the health and economic disasters inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shows of force as demonstrated by the PDIP-P elite will only backfire.

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