New beginning?: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (right) shakes hands with Puan Maharani, daughter of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, while Puan’s father and People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Taufiq Kiemas (center) looks on at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Wednesday. Puan and Taufiq met Yudhoyono to hand him a copy of the new book Gelora Kebangsaan Tak Kunjung Padam (Unflagging Nationalism). Many people are speculating about the motive behind Wednesday’s meeting. Courtesy Presidential Office/Abror Rizki In what could be seen as a further conciliatory gesture, Taufiq Kiemas, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief patron, met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday, hinting at a possible collaboration between the two powerful families in the 2014 general election.

Taufiq, the husband of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarno...