The country’s oldest and third-largest political party is banking on a potential alliance of major parties to secure its chances of winning the 2024 presidential race, as it looks to realign its bargaining position with members of the ruling coalition to collectively tout a candidate that will carry on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s legacy.

Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto said in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post that the party was seeking to gain the majority vote in next year’s presidential election by forming a big tent alliance with other pro-government parties.

Alliance building in the lead-up to the 2024 elections has taken a new turn after two key pro-government groups, the Golkar-led United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) and the Gerindra-led Great Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KKIR), announced last Sunday that they would seek ways to stitch the blocs together to back the same presidential candidate.

Golkar formed the KIB with the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP), while Gerindra made a political deal with the National Awakening Party (PKB) to form the KKIR.

Both alliances, however, are still finding it hard to nominate their presidential candidates.

Airlangga was the first to float the idea of joining the two blocs together, after holding a series of revolving door meetings between Golkar and both pro-government and opposition party leaders in recent months.

Analysts said the meetings were an attempt by various parties to elevate their standing among potential allies and rivals amid the fluidity of efforts to establish electoral alliances.

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