A house of cards?

While many politicians and observers underscore President Soeharto's call for a stronger House of Representatives -- on an equal footing with the presidency -- we can be sure that most of them have little or no idea whether or how this is possible.

In making the call, after the inauguration of the new House this week, the President was restating the 1945 Constitution which assign the House and the presidency different roles in running the country, where neither is more powerful than the other.

It was a statement that had to be made, nevertheless, because the House has not lived up to constitutional expectations. Given the challenges facing Indonesia in the next millennium, it was worthwhile restating the point again for the 500 new House members as they embark on their new constitutional duty.

But there is a great difference between what the constitution wants and the political environment within which it is being applied. Even in the most developed democracy with a presidential government -- take the United States as an example -- the presidency in this infomedia age has become almost omnipotent, at the expense of the other institutions that make up democracy.

The presidency -- be it in the United States or Indonesia -- has so many resources at its disposal, including the powerful bureaucratic machine. It also has virtually unlimited access to the media which further enhances its power beyond challenge.

In spite of its own constitutional role to preserve democracy, the media have become a willing contributor to the growing power of what one American analyst once described as the "imperial presidency".

With that kind of power and few checks and balances, it is no wonder that many incumbent presidents all around the world get reelected. Some countries -- though not Indonesia -- have remedied this by introducing term limits. In some less democratic countries they resort to coups.

In the current Indonesian political context, the likelihood of the House of Representatives rising to the same level as the presidency is a daunting, if not an impossible, task. History, especially most recent history, is not on its side.

House members are poorly equipped in any debate with the government, assuming that they had the political will or courage to debate anything in the first place. The media also finds government statements more newsworthy to publish than those made by House members, further contributing to the strengthening of the government vis-a-vis the House.

Whether or not the House will live up to the constitutional role assigned to it, however, depends ultimately on the quality of its members. Looking back at the way House members were selected, screened and later elected in the May general election, the picture is not very encouraging.

We recall the charges of nepotism and cronyism when candidates were selected for the May election. There was the exclusion of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the deposed leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), in spite of her popularity as shown by the outpouring of support during the election campaign.

Nevertheless, one should give the newly installed House, and the larger People's Consultative Assembly, as well as its leaders the benefit of the doubt. They have been sworn in and they will work for the country over the next five years.

President Soeharto's call for a solid House should be tempered with a dose of reality. Rather than aiming to strengthen its position vis-a-vis the presidency, the House should focus more on making itself more effective in representing the people.

The President's statement has created the necessary environment for House members to raise their profile. Now, it is up to them to prove that the legislative body is not a mere house of cards.