President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has given a signal that the doors are open for the opposition Gerindra Party, led by presidential rival Prabowo Subianto, to join the government coalition during his second and final term in office.

In an exclusive interview with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, Jokowi said he was open to cooperating with anyone who sought to work together in developing the world’s third-largest democracy when he got asked about the chance of welcoming Gerindra into the ruling coalition.

“I am open to anyone who wants to join hands to develop and build the country together,” Jokowi replied. “It’s impossible for us to develop a country as huge as Indonesia alone, so we need to do it together.”

The possibility of Gerindra joining the coalition further widened the chance for Jokowi, who defeated Prabowo by a margin of 17 million votes in the April election, to secure more political support and a stronger grip at the House of Representatives for the next five years.

Five political parties in Jokowi’s coalition are projected to control 349 of the 575 seats in the House, with four parties set to dominate the five House speaker seats based on the outcome of the legislative election.

Gerindra, which placed third in the legislative elections and was projected to win 78 seats, would be the only opposition party supplying one of the legislative body’s speakers, a circumstance that analysts said might weaken the voices critical of the government.

“Our spirit is musyawarah untuk mufakat [deliberation for consensus]. However, such a large democracy needs healthy checks and balances, both from within and outside the House,” Jokowi went on to say.

Executives from three ruling political parties — the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP) — have also confirmed that the coalition had discussed the possibility of inviting Gerindra to the camp.

One of the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that most of the parties in the ruling coalition were more interested in Gerindra, the largest party in the opposition, rather than other political parties in the rival camp.

The source revealed the possibility of Gerindra switching sides, saying that, so far, the secretaries-general of the ruling parties “have better communication with Gerindra’s executive compared to with [those] of other parties in Prabowo’s coalition”.

The news was rather surprising, given that Jokowi himself appeared to have intensified talks with the executives of the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) — both of which supported Prabowo’s candidacy — as he had met them on several occasions since voting day.

Agus Harimurti, the eldest son of Dems patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, even made a warm gesture by visiting Jokowi, as well as PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, for an Idul Fitri greeting last week.

PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan, meanwhile, has said he would throw his support behind any presidential candidate who legitimately won the election. Both the Democrats and PAN have hinted that they might leave Prabowo’s coalition.

PDI-P executive Aria Bima confirmed that Gerindra still had a chance to join the ruling camp, however, further discussion might start after Jokowi’s inauguration in October.

“In terms of fighting for the interest of the nation, Jokowi and Prabowo have a strong bond. They have similarities in programs and policies,” Aria said. “That will be a ‘Cabinet Reconciliation’.”

PKB deputy secretary-general Jazilul Fawaid, however, suggested that opposition parties who sought to support Jokowi should not be given significant posts in the future cabinet.

“They can be given positions in other state institutions or as ambassadors,” he said, “Although [Gerindra] is a big party, it lost the presidential race.”

Gerindra Party executive Andre Rosiade admitted that the ruling coalition had offered the party some positions in the cabinet in exchange for joining the camp.

“However, now we are still focusing on winning the election dispute in the [Constitutional] Court,” he said.

Prabowo’s campaign team has challenged the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) vote tally, which confirmed Jokowi’s victory, at the court, accusing the KPU of rigging the election in favor of the incumbent.

The first hearing is set to take place on Friday.

Talks over postelection coalitions among political parties of the rivaling camps have continued ever since the end of the election, which was considered to be one of the most divisive political contests in the country.

The seven-month long election campaign season, which Jokowi admitted was “too long” and “exhausting”, also saw polarizing campaigns that divided the electorate, prompting the nation’s elites to call for reconciliation among the elites to diffuse tension at the grass roots.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia