TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Could Airlangga’s ouster be a sign of an ailing democracy?
Even in a mixed presidential-parliamentary system like ours, there’s nothing in the president’s job description that would allow him or her to replace the leader of an independent political party.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Joko “Jokowi" Widodo (third right), accompanied by National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan (second right), Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto (third left), Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto (second left), National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar (left) and United Development Party (PPP) acting chairman Muhamad Mardiono (right), gives a press statement after attending a Ramadan gathering at the PAN central executive board office in Jakarta on April 2, 2023. The heads of all the political parties in the pro-government coalition attended the event. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
I
n a presidential system, the nation’s leader typically has extensive powers, ranging from appointing cabinet members and enforcing the law to serving as commander in chief of the military.
And even in a mixed presidential-parliamentary system like ours, there’s nothing in the president’s job description that would allow him or her to replace the leader of an independent political party.
In a multiparty system in particular, a sitting president must strive to protect the independence of political parties, to enable them to aggregate the will of voters, contest elections, advocate for policies and, if they so choose, oppose the ruling administration, even if it means a greater chance of executive-legislative deadlock.
The dust has barely settled, but it appears now that Airlangga Hartarto’s resignation from his position as Golkar Party chairman was the result of machinations involving the office of the President.
If media reports are correct that Airlangga was summoned to meet President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo one day before he delivered his resignation speech, it seems likely that the executive had a hand in his departure.
And then there's the widely circulated photo of the President having a private conversation with Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who is now tipped to be the strongest candidate to replace Airlangga in an extraordinary congress to be held in the coming months.
