Political elites' maneuvers

Political elites' maneuvers

From Bali Post

It is quite interesting to witness how political leaders are maneuvering through the so-called national coalition and coalition with the people, and the employment of various tricks and psywars in order to achieve their goals -- serving their interests and holding power. And the winner of the contest will be determined at the second round of the presidential and vice presidential election runoff on Sept. 20.

However, the chance of winning the election depends largely on how clever the contesting candidates present their platform -- concerning vision and mission etc. -- and in turn offer their platform to the public. The people have in fact now become smarter, and it is no longer easy to encourage them to choose any one particular candidate.

They would consider the candidates' past track records carefully before deciding on the best choice. As they know too well, that if they choose the wrong candidates, the impact will be felt for the next five years.

The conflicts of interest prevailing among the political elites should be taken to mean that our democratic life is becoming increasingly more mature and providing greater opportunity for the people to enjoy true democracy, in which rights and responsibilities work in compliance with their conscience. This sort of condition is particularly true in the reform era.

I WAYAN SUDIANA Denpasar, Bali