Susilo changes tack and meets leaders
Susilo changes tack and meets leaders
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya
Changes are visible in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's efforts to win
the presidency and keep up with his rival Megawati Soekarnoputri,
who has met with a host of powerful political leaders in the past
week.
While maintaining that he would not build a coalition with
other parties ahead of the Sept. 20 election -- to prevent horse-
trading -- Susilo and running mate Jusuf Kalla have met or will
still meet some of the same party leaders that Megawati has been
wooing.
On Friday Susilo met National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien
Rais at the latter's home in Yogyakarta.
Amien, who finished fourth with nearly 15 percent of the vote
in the five-way election on July 5, is the first top political
leader Susilo has formally met with.
The red-hot favorite in the presidential election is looking
forward to meeting Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who as president
fired him as chief security minister in 2001.
"We will hold talks with Gus Dur. We consider him a respected
figure. We hope to listen to his views on how to give the best to
people and the country," Susilo said on the sidelines of a
coordination meeting with his campaign team in Surabaya on
Saturday.
Gus Dur said he welcomed Susilo's offer, but insisted that he
personally would not vote in the next round.
Susilo said in Jakarta on Sunday that he would wait to speak
with representatives of the Golkar Party, which garnered the most
votes in the April 5 legislative election, since "I'm still
waiting for the verdict by the Constitutional Court."
Golkar's presidential candidate Wiranto has filed a complaint
with the Constitutional Court alleging that he and running mate
Solahuddin Wahid lost some 5.4 million votes to inaccuracies and
inconsistencies.
Wiranto received 26.2 million votes in the July 5 election,
behind Susilo's 38.8 million votes and incumbent Megawati
Soekarnoputri's 31.5 million.
"My party will have around 12 percent of the seats in the
House of Representatives and if I win the September election my
administration may have a difficult time carrying out policies
unless I develop a coalition with other parties in the House.
"But since Pak Wiranto is filing a complaint with the court --
and none of us can predict the verdict -- it isn't ethical for me
to make any political approach to Golkar," Susilo said during a
press conference.
The remark came amid mounting criticism that Susilo, who has
topped all the opinion polls, was not open to possible
coalitions.
Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung seems to have given a green light
for a coalition with Megawati, who stepped up her political
lobbying after the General Elections Commission (KPU) officially
announced on Monday that she qualified for the second round.
Megawati has held a series of meetings with other party
leaders, including Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party
(PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB)'s patron Gus Dur and
Akbar last Friday.
She is also arranging a meeting with Amien Rais.
On Saturday, Megawati visited the ailing, influential
Nahdlatul Ulama cleric Abdullah Faqih, who prior to the July
polls called on his followers not to vote for her.