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Coalition parties accept Megawati’s demand for Cabinet posts
Party executives said they believed the President would form a proportional Cabinet line-up, meaning the number of seats given to each party would reflect its result in April’s legislative race.
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Gerindra Party patron Prabowo Subianto (second left) and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (center) smile while taking a selfie with Megawati's daughter and Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani (second right) on the sidelines of the opening of PDI-P's fifth national congress in Bali on Thursday. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
The cold war has resumed in the ruling coalition backing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, despite party leaders having met at a political gathering hosted by the dominant Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in Denpasar, Bali.
Party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri asserted at her party’s national congress that the PDI-P, having won the legislative election in April, wanted more than four Cabinet positions in the President’s next line-up. Other coalition members have not challenged her request, but many object to the idea of opposition party Gerindra joining the government.
Party executives said they believed the President would form a proportional Cabinet line-up, meaning the number of seats given to each party would reflect its result in April’s legislative race.
The Golkar Party, which shares the runner-up spot with Gerindra, said accepting the opposition party – whose chairman Prabowo Subianto took on Jokowi in the presidential election – would not be a problem, but Jokowi should take into consideration the quality of individuals proposed to him.
Golkar politician and House of Representatives Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said the party would not interfere with Jokowi’s Cabinet planning and hence would refrain from requesting a certain number of minister posts.
"The ideal way to form the Cabinet for us is to look at names without considering the political party […]; remember that we, as the supporters, don’t make those plans. Jokowi is the one who makes them. Golkar is ready to follow his plans,” Bambang said.
