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As more parties join Cabinet, Jokowi may recruit partisan professionals
Jokowi said he still wanted more professionals in the Cabinet, or at least half of his Cabinet, but he is open to the possibility of recruiting professionals that are also members of political parties.
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Democratic Party chairman and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meets with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. (kompas.com/Ihsanuddin)
W
ith President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hinting that former opposition political parties may join his Cabinet, concerns have been raised about whether he will maintain his plan to incorporate professional and non-partisan individuals.
Jokowi met with chairmen of the Gerindra Party and the Democratic Party—two political parties that supported Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto in the April presidential election—last week, ahead of his second-term inauguration on Oct. 20.
While there has yet to be an official announcement about how many Cabinet seats will be allocated for the parties, if Jokowi really approves, there will be more political parties in his new Cabinet than his current one.
At the moment, Jokowi’s Cabinet consists of 34 ministers, 14 of whom are representatives of six parties in the ruling coalition. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) controls four seats, the largest number among other political parties.
As parties in the ruling coalition have called on the President to prioritize them in the upcoming Cabinet, there are concerns that the seats allocated for the Dems and Gerindra will come from the professional and non-partisan slots in his Cabinet.
Jokowi has said he wants more professionals in the Cabinet in his second term, or at least half of his Cabinet, but he is open to the possibility of recruiting professionals that are also members of political parties.
M. Qodari, a political expert from Jakarta-based pollster Indo Barometer, said Jokowi had more parties supporting him during the 2019 presidential election, including newcomers the United Indonesia Party (Perindo) and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), making it a challenge for him to keep non-partisan slots in the Cabinet.
