Megawati, a housewife, a leader and the President

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Like children listening to their mother, an audience of thousands of people mostly from the grass roots, moved closer to the stage. Holding their attention was Megawati Soekarnoputri, the incumbent President and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Earlier, she had asked her supporters in a firm yet soft voice to draw nearer to the stage. As she began to talk, silence fell over the Bung Karno stadium in the city.

It was noon yet the scorching sun didn't bother the crowd who made it clear that in their eyes, Megawati's speech was the most charismatic of those delivered by party leaders to date. The stadium is named after the nation's greatest orator and first president Sukarno, who was Megawati's father.

Having covered events at the palace for three years, not once did I observe Megawati exude such confidence.

As the end of the campaign period approaches, the President seems transformed. Gone is her indecisiveness, impulsiveness, unpunctuality and attention to menial details.

"They said that I am just a housewife who cannot do anything right. Well, this housewife is still able to draw a crowd like this," Megawati said to thunderous applause.

In a semi-feudal society like Indonesia, it is difficult to imagine the PDI-P without Megawati at the helm. Unfortunately, as President she still has a lot to answer for.

Her "mother-like" leadership, which unites different factions of the party ahead of the elections, has not been apparent in her leadership of the country.

"I have noticed that there is a big gap between her personality as the President and as the leader of the PDI-P. As President she seems to hold back," political analyst Cornelis Lay told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

As President, he said, Megawati seems to be trapped in a political game. "She acts naively and shows unnecessary tolerance for her political opponents," Cornelis said, citing that Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra had been permitted to extend his leave of absence by four days to campaign for the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

"The regulation only allows ministers to take two days off, but Megawati defended her decision by saying that Yusril, like herself, is a party leader," said Cornelis who is a member of PDI-P's think tank.

He said that this condition had also prevented her from taking radical steps, which she had promised the people would follow PDI-P's victory in the 1999 election.

"If she is reelected, she should transfer her leadership style in leading the PDI-P to leading the country," Cornelis said.

However, by not fulfilling the PDI-P's promises, after the 1999 election she stalled legal reform and tarnished her public image.

Some surveys indicate that Megawati's chances of being reelected are slim, as people have grown tired of her leadership style.

A political analyst close to Golkar, said that most people did not trust Megawati.

"People do not have extreme hatred of Megawati, but everybody knows that she cannot do it, so why try again," said the analyst who refused to be named.

The answer to such speculations, and the true test of Megawati's popularity, lies in the upcoming elections.