Golkar on PDIP's Stance as a Balancing Party: Let the People Judge

The Golkar Party has responded to a statement by PDI Perjuangan Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri regarding PDIP’s position as a balancing party towards the Red-and-White Cabinet coalition of President Prabowo Subianto.

Golkar Secretary-General Sarmuji said his party has no issue with the political stance taken by PDIP.

“It is entirely up to PDI Perjuangan what position it wishes to take. The people will judge in due course,” Sarmuji said when contacted on Thursday (9 July).

Sarmuji also said his party respects the stance adopted by PDIP.

“We simply respect it. But for me personally, politics is about attitude and action,” he said.

Previously, Megawati issued an internal letter explaining PDIP’s position as a balancing party towards the Red-and-White Cabinet coalition of President Prabowo Subianto.

The letter, signed by Megawati on 1 July 2026 and numbered 1275/IN/DPP/v/2026, is titled ‘Explanation by the General Chairwoman of PDI Perjuangan on the Position of PDI Perjuangan as a Balancing Party within the Constitutional System of the Republic of Indonesia’. The letter has been confirmed by PDIP Executive Board member Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

In the letter, Megawati wrote that PDIP’s position as a balancing party was first conveyed at the party’s sixth congress in Badung Regency, Bali Province, on 1 August 2025. At the time, Megawati said, Indonesia, which adheres to a presidential system, does not recognise the terms opposition and coalition.

“Indonesian democracy is not a democracy of power blocs, but rather a democracy grounded in the sovereignty of the people and the supremacy of the constitution,” Megawati wrote.

In that position, according to Megawati, the survival of a government is not determined by majority support in the House of Representatives. The President, she continued, also cannot be removed merely for losing political support in parliament, except through the impeachment mechanism.

“This differs from a parliamentary system, in which the government is formed by a majority party or coalition in parliament and must continuously maintain the confidence of parliament,” she said.

Megawati explained that her party’s stance as a balancing party is also in line with the thinking of Giovanni Sartori in his book ‘Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis’ (1976).

Sartori, Megawati said, introduced the concept of responsible opposition. Under this concept, an opposition must not merely reject and criticise, but must also possess the awareness to bear responsibility for the continuity of the system of government.

Through that understanding, Sartori, according to Megawati, criticised irresponsible opposition, namely an opposition that treats rejection and criticism of the government as an end in itself without considering the consequences for the stability of the state and the welfare of the people.

“On the basis of that constitutional understanding, historical experience, and theoretical foundation, PDI Perjuangan uses the term ‘balancing party’,” Megawati said.