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NasDem chair Surya comes in from cold as Jokowi plays ‘kingmaker’
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh talk during a meeting on Nov. 22, 2018. (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hosted NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh at the State Palace on Monday after having shunned the coalition member for months over his party’s support for opposition presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, in a détente that analysts say could be aimed at influencing a possible runoff election.
Surya, who has been candid about his desire to have a face-to-face meeting with the President, said he had received the invitation from Jokowi himself and described the talks as having a “familial atmosphere”.
The evening meeting lasted about an hour and followed a surprise Cabinet shake-up earlier in the day in which the President appointed more loyalists to top positions, including key supporters from his presidential campaigns and figures from the private sector.
Analysts believe Jokowi is seeking to consolidate power through his Cabinet picks as the end of his presidency approaches.
Surya, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on Sunday, said he had received birthday wishes from the President at the meeting and claimed the two had a bond that went beyond politics.
“My relationship with Pak Jokowi is not limited to the relationship between a party leader and a president. This is undeniably quite a close personal relationship [between] the older and the younger,” Surya said on Tuesday.
Jokowi and Surya’s connection goes back more than a decade, to when the newly established NasDem Party joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in supporting Jokowi for the Jakarta governorship in 2012. NasDem later supported Jokowi’s 2014 and 2019 presidential bids.
