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Jokowi on a collision course with PDI-P’s Megawati
Clearly, Jokowi does not want to put all his eggs in one basket and is keen to play a kingmaker role, in order to ensure his legacy, such as his flagship new capital city construction project in East Kalimantan, will remain intact.
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Gerindra party chairman Prabowo Subianto (second right) and (from left to right) National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan, Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto, and National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar shake hands as they declare their coalition for the 2024 presidential election at Proclamation Museum on Aug. 13, 2023. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
The declaration of support from the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) for Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto in the 2024 presidential election on Saturday should send shockwaves through the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its paramount leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The announcement cannot be separated from the cawe-cawe (interference) of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, whom Megawati often refers to as her party official and therefore duty-bound to support her choice of presidential nominee Central Java Ganjar Pranowo.
In front of Prabowo, Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the coordinating economic minister, and PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan, who is the trade minister, signed an agreement to nominate the Gerindra founder, who is also the defense minister, at an event held at the Proclamation Museum in Central Jakarta.
The signing came exactly a year after Prabowo and the National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar declared a coalition for the 2024 presidential race. Muhaimin has since then insisted that in return Gerindra choose him as Prabowo’s running mate. The four party leaders opted to shelve that matter for the time being.
According to Airlangga, Prabowo is the most "appropriate" leader who can take Indonesia out of the middle-income trap. "The [development] process that the President has started must be continued, and we think that Prabowo is the right figure to do so," Airlangga said after the ceremony.
Prabowo himself is confident President Jokowi will endorse the new coalition, which amalgamates the Gerindra-led Great Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KKIR) and the Golkar-led United Indonesia Coalition (KIB). The other KIB founder, the United Development Party (PPP), has joined forces with the PDI-P.
"Jokowi is a democratic man. He truly respects the independence of every party. So, I'm sure that he will approve our decision," Prabowo said.
