A new political alliance
Golkar's recent nomination of the care-taker head of state, B.J. Habibie, as its presidential candidate has seriously disenchanted all reform-minded political parties.
Although the decision was predicted by many -- since Golkar still operates like the political machine of former president Soeharto, and Habibie is his protege -- opponents now feel the danger of a return to New Order politics, which will derail the reform efforts and plunge the country into a more serious crisis.
Although to most Indonesians Habibie is better known for his special brand of political burlesque, his failures since assuming the presidency a year ago are horrible. With the term of his administration approaching, people are beginning to see a dreadful picture of the country's future: worsening national disintegration marked by bloody communal, racial and religious clashes and accompanied by widespread protests by angry young people and brutal military crackdowns. And the law will be kept at bay.
In an apparent effort to save the nation from this catastrophe, three leading pro-reform political parties -- the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) -- set up an alliance. They said they will fight against forces supporting the status quo.
Although the three parties did not name any political entity in their statement, the public understands that the alliance has their sights set on Golkar.
The loose alliance of the three parties, which many observers believe will win a majority of the vote in the June 7 general election, was reinforced on Friday by the support of two Muslim parties: The United Development Party (PPP) and the newly established Justice Party (PK) joined the anti-status quo cause.
PAN chairman Amien Rais signed on Friday a joint communique with the leaders of PPP and PK, affirming their united stance for reform. The three parties agreed not to nominate Habibie as the country's next president.
Like the accord reached by PAN and the two other parties earlier, Friday's agreement also called for the presidential and vice presidential elections to be held three months after the June 7 poll's results are made official.
Last weeks maneuver is surely a major step forward in the reform movement. However, PAN and PK must demand consistency from PPP in this campaign, due the latter's close relationship with the President in the past.
PPP is also not yet free of the New Order virus, because many pro-Soeharto elements are still active in the party. A leader of the party has said it would be impossible to form a coalition with Golkar because the former ruling party has raped and robbed PPP for a long time.
The claim might be true in some ways, but PPP must have been a cooperative victim. Its noisiest fight was to support Soeharto's reelection in 1997.