Kalla ready to bury old House order

Kalla ready to bury old House order

Tony Hotland and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Newly elected Golkar Party leader Vice President Jusuf Kalla
strongly signalled Golkar was out of the National Coalition on
Monday by saying there was no such permanent bloc in the House.

Meanwhile, analysts said Kalla's victory could threaten the
support from parties backing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"There is no such thing as a permanent coalition in the House
which is now very dynamic and everything must be in accordance
with prevailing issues," Kalla said.

Past decisions were always subject to change, especially in
politics. "Golkar will remain a critical partner of the
government," Kalla said.

Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
the Reform Star Party (PBR), the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and
the United Development Party (PPP) earlier agreed to form the
Nationhood Coalition to support former president Megawati
Soekarnoputri's reelection bid in the Sept. 20 runoff.

Following Megawati's crushing defeat, the PPP quit the
coalition, while the four others decided to act together as the
opposition in the House.

PDI-P deputy secretary general Pramono Anung, however, said
Monday the coalition was never intended to be permanent.

An analyst with the Indonesian Institute of Political
Sciences, Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, said with Golkar supporting the
government, the party would demand Susilo's attention far more
than other parties in the President's People's Coalition and put
their support at risk.

"Medium-sized parties are like wild balls that can side with
any party that acts in their interests, including the Democratic
Party, which might be forgotten by Susilo with the presence of
Golkar," Ikrar told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Susilo and Kalla have been supported by the coalition, which
includes the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Indonesian Justice and
Unity Party (PKPI), PPP and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

"It's possible that new groupings will form, although it would
change and be more on an issue-and-interest-oriented basis. The
current parliament is actually quite flexible and fluid. History
has shown that even parties who support the president can be more
critical than others," Ikrar said.

Daniel Sparinga from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East
Java, said medium-sized parties could oppose Susilo if his deputy
was too focused on accommodating Golkar's interests.

"The victory may be at the expense of Susilo's position. It
may be beneficial in the short term, but in the long term, Kalla
could threaten and undermine Susilo's position as President
because Kalla seems to have a higher bargaining level," he said.

Daniel said having Golkar on their side, Susilo and Kalla's
positions would be more secure with government legislation being
passed without much resistance.

"However, it would be far better to have a critical
parliament. We can't let their check-and-balance function stall
with Golkar coming in. It's also important to assure that the
critical people in Golkar will still be critical under the
leadership of Kalla," he added.

In the case of the PDI-P, both Ikrar and Daniel believed this
was the perfect time for the party to consolidate and improve its
image in order to compete in the next general elections.

"They shouldn't prioritize forming a new alliance with other
parties. The legislature is quite critical and flexible now,
depending on the issues. The (PDI-P) must show they can be more
intelligent at scrutinizing and more critical than Golkar is,"
Ikrar said.