How Serious is Nasdem's Merger with Gerindra?

Deputy General Chairman of Nasdem Party, Saan Mustopa, has emphasised that the issue of a merger between Nasdem Party and Gerindra Party remains at the level of discourse and has not yet become a serious topic of discussion within the party. He admitted to being surprised by the emergence of the issue in public. He stated that in political terminology, the unification of parties is more appropriately termed a “fusion” rather than a merger or acquisition. “But in its development, when there is an idea or notion related to fusion, although it needs to be considered and thought about, there are also other matters that must be collectively considered, such as the context of ideology, the context of identity, and the existence of the party,” Saan said when met by media at the Senayan parliamentary complex on Monday (13/4/2026). “And once again, the idea or discourse related to fusion is something ordinary as a discourse, as an idea, as a notion. It just depends on how it is contextualised; there are many things that need to be considered,” he added. According to Saan, factors such as ideology, identity, and party existence are crucial aspects in the discourse on fusion. Every political party, he said, is built on the idealism and ideas of its founders, so it cannot be easily merged just like that. He also alluded to Indonesia’s historical experience with the 1973 Political Party Fusion, when several parties were combined into three major forces. However, Saan assessed that the political context at that time differs from the current more open and developed democratic conditions. Furthermore, Saan assured that to date, Nasdem is still focused on strengthening the party’s internal aspects, including consolidating structures down to the regional level. “Because we are now still focused on consolidating our internals, consolidating and building party structures, party consolidation at the national, regional, and local levels. So we are intensifying the consolidation and formation of party structures down to the DPRT level. That’s our focus today,” he said. Regarding reports of a meeting between Nasdem General Chairman Surya Paloh and President Prabowo Subianto in Hambalang, Saan admitted he does not know the exact content of the discussion. However, he viewed meetings between coalition party leaders and the president as commonplace. “As for the meeting between the general chairman, Mr Surya, with President Mr Prabowo, it might have happened because Nasdem is part of the coalition party. This party is part of the government coalition,” he said. He added that Nasdem is fully committed to supporting President Prabowo’s administration until the end of his term. Even though it does not have many cadres in the government, Nasdem continues to provide maximum support for the government’s strategic programmes. “And Nasdem in every political step certainly strives as much as possible so that what becomes the agenda, especially the priority programmes and also the strategic programmes of the government under the leadership of President Mr Prabowo, we strive maximally so that those agendas run well and successfully,” he said. In response to rumours of cadres moving to the Indonesian Solidarity Party, Saan stated that the number is not significant and can still be counted. He viewed cadre movements as a normal political dynamic. “Well, if it’s said to be many, it can still be counted on fingers, right. If it’s many, it wouldn’t be countable. This can still be counted on fingers, those who moved. And the phenomenon of moving is normal, it doesn’t only happen in Nasdem Party. So it’s a normal phenomenon, something ordinary for people to move from one party to another,” he said.