Megawati begins to feel the heat in government
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is facing difficulties in leading the government due to the failure of her party's legislators to control the House of Representatives, political analysts say.
"Megawati now feels that her government cannot carry out its work effectively because the House spends too much of its time scrutinizing her," political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Kusnanto Anggoro told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Denny J.A., from Jakarta-based Jayabaya University, shared a similar view, saying that Megawati had begun to experience the same difficulties that befell her predecessor, former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Both Kusnanto and Denny made the remarks in response to Megawati's criticism of legislators, claiming that their internal bickering had hampered the reform process.
Kusnanto said that being a president during such a transitional period was difficult because of the all-powerful legislative body.
The government is required to work efficiently to solve various pressing problems, but the government's initiatives are frequently not implemented because many policies have to gain approval first from the House, he said.
He added that the situation had got worse since the House acquired legislative, judicial and executive powers.
The legislative function includes law making, while the judicial function involves the creation of the House's special committees to probe certain cases. The executive function includes the right of the House to take part in the appointment of state officials like the national police chief, military commander, ambassadors, etc.
"Under such conditions the government cannot work well if legislators of the president's party are unable to control the House," said Kusnanto.
Denny said that Megawati's government actually needed a party like Golkar to form a strong coalition government with. But a coalition with Golkar would mean that she would find it difficult to fulfill her promise of cracking down on corruption.
If the 153 seats of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the House were to be combined with those held by the Golkar Party (120), then they would become the majority in the 500-member legislative body.
Denny said that it would not be easy for Megawati to hold a coalition with the Central Axis because it consists of several parties with varying political agendas.
The Central Axis is a group of politicians from Muslim parties, including the United Development Party, National Mandate Party, the Crescent and Star Party and Justice Party. Jointly, they have 112 seats in the House.
Golkar and Central Axis took part in enabling Megawati to become president in the People's Consultative Assembly's Special Session last July.
On Sunday, Golkar threatened to withdraw its support for Megawati's leadership if her legislators supported the creation of the House special committee to probe Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung in a corruption case.