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Agus’ takeover of leadership opportunity for party consolidation: Experts
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Standing firm: Democratic Party executive Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono gives his speech during the closing ceremony of the party's 2018 national leadership meeting at Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), Bogor, West Java, on March 11. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
T
he handover of Democratic Party leadership from former party chairman and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to his eldest son Agus Hartimurti Yudhoyono is an opportunity for the party to consolidate and prepare for the upcoming 2024 election, observers have said.
Agus was elected as the new party chairman to replace his father after a plenary session in the party’s fifth national congress in Jakarta on Sunday.
He entered the political arena in 2016 when he ran for the governorship of Jakarta, with Sylviana Murni as his running mate, marking a career shift after 16 years in the military. Agus had served as the party’s deputy chairman since October 2019.
“The regeneration [of leadership] is a good thing to do now because it will take a long time to manage the party under AHY’s leadership and to develop a strategy to gain public support in 2024,” said Indonesia Political Review executive director Ujang Komarudin, referring to Agus by his nickname, “AHY”.
Ujang added that consolidating the party should be one of Agus’ first priorities as the new leader to improve the Dems’ standing in the upcoming legislative election.
Centre for International Strategic Studies (CSIS) researcher Arya Fernandes said Agus’ leadership came at a challenging time for the party as it had suffered a steady decline in votes.
“Agus starts with an uneasy situation. There is a declining trend in votes for the party in legislative elections, 20 percent in 2009, 10 percent in 2014 and 7 percent in 2019,” said Arya. “It is a big task for AHY to put the brakes on such a decline.”
