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Luhut paves way for Airlangga
The meeting — seen by many as symbolic of the role played by State Palace operatives in the power struggle within the nation's second largest party — resulted in the withdrawal of Bambang Soesatyo from the race for the party's top leadership post.
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People's Representatives Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo (left) shakes hands with incumbent Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto. Both will compete in the upcoming race for the party's top post. ( ANTARA / Nova Wahyudi)
H
ours before the Golkar Party's National Congress in Jakarta on Tuesday night, the party's stalwarts held a meeting at the Office of Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.
The meeting — seen by many as symbolic of the role played by State Palace operatives in the power struggle within the nation's second largest party — resulted in the withdrawal of Bambang Soesatyo from the race for the party's top leadership post.
Bambang was the strongest challenger to incumbent chairman Airlangga Hartarto.
His withdrawal practically sealed the win for Airlangga, the coordinating economic minister in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Indonesia Onward Cabinet. The President is said to have favored Airlangga over Bambang, with Luhut, a powerful Jokowi ally and a senior Golkar politician, playing a decisive role in convincing Bambang to drop his bid to maintain "the party's solidity".
"I call on my supporters who have worked hard to mend ties with all party members as there is only one Golkar Party," Bambang said after the meeting, which was also attended by Airlangga and business tycoon and former Golkar leader Aburizal Bakrie.
Bambang, who now serves as the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker, said it was crucial for the party to remain united ahead of the 2020 concurrent regional elections and the 2024 general election.
Other contenders for the party's top post, such as Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa and Indra Bambang Utoyo, also decided to quit the race. It is likely that Airlangga will be elected chairman again by acclamation, with his remaining challenger, Ridwan Hisjam, seen as having no chances of winning in a vote. The congress will elect a new chairman on Thursday.
