The prospect of Jokowi’s four-legged cooperation Lexy Armanjaya ;   A project officer at Partnership for Governance Reform  in Indonesia (Kemitraan), Jakarta

JAKARTA POST, 26 Agustus 2014

                                                

The victory of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo over Prabowo Subianto in the presidential election has the red-and-white coalition led by Prabowo’s Gerindra Party on the verge of splintering. It seems now to have been a bluff that only brought bad luck to its creator. At the least, the splintering can be seen through the responses from individuals of the Golkar Party, the Democratic Party and the United Development Party (PPP) that seem to be leaning in another direction. The rift within the coalition that supports Prabowo indicates two things. First, that the coalition is held together by the vested interests of the political elite. A coalition is formed when the elite share the same needs; if their goals are different, a rival coalition will emerge. Second, a coalition is not about vision or mission or common party platforms, as the elite have claimed. Rather, it is about designing a political formation to manipulate peoples’ votes. If Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla (JK) are the face of the nation and a solid representation of the Indonesian people, then a coalition is not an efficacious means of managing the country. Jokowi and JK do not have to be the “landlords” for a permanent coalition that has begun to show cracks. It is not vainglory, but part of our willingness to let Jokowi-Kalla create a political space without being held hostage by elitist interests that can derail people’s aspirations. The question is whether parts of the appalling permanent coalition can accept it or become sycophants of power. Wasn’t “mental revolution” the main campaign slogan for Jokowi-JK?  Well, this means that the power-worship mentality has to change and power lust needs a counterbalance. Jokowi does not use the word “coalition” in constructing political dialogue with the political parties or with respect to governing the country in a post-SBY (Subilo Bambang Yudhoyono) era. Instead, he prefers to use the word “cooperation”, stressing his willingness to build partnerships without preconditions. On such grounds, Jokowi and his Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have opened its door to cooperating with three other parties — Nasdem, PKB (National Awakening Party) and Hanura — which allied to endorse Jokowi-JK in the 2014 presidential race. Even after the Constitutional Court upheld Jokowi’s win, Jokowi re-emphasized that an inter-party cooperation does not guarantee seats. If having a seat is understood to mean participating as part of the governing coalition, not having a seat, on the contrary, could be understood to mean sitting in opposition. The total percentage of the four-legged cooperation that has secured electoral victory for Jokowi-JK could change when the pair begins running the government. This means that the inter-party cooperation may grow — winning more than 50 percent of House of Representatives seats — or it could stagnate. This could be a positive sign for the creation of a coalition capable of supporting government programs or other initiatives in the House. On the other hand, it could add new burdens to the PDI-P for maintaining a “fat” political coalition. It will be stagnant, however, if inter-party romance during the election struggle proves immutable to change and if it closes the door on other parties who wish to join, as this means the power in the government belongs to the four parties holding just 40 percent of House seats. If that is the case, then (1) the four-party cooperation and the government of Jokowi-JK will always be undermined by the rival coalition that controls 60 percent of the House seats and (2) the PDI-P’s dream of winning the House speaker post could vanish in an instant. The PDI-P must be prepared for such political risks. However, not having the speaker role in the House does not constitute a death knell for the party or the collapse of a Jokowi-JK government. There’s no need to worry that the four-legged cooperation will not strongly influence the House simply because the four parties do not agree to secure cooperation from other parties, which has always been interpreted as requiring offering up Cabinet seats in return. Jokowi’s experience as mayor of Surakarta and Jakarta governor has proven that having the support of the people prevails over political elite backing. Despite the fact that the coalition of the PDI-P and Gerindra secured only 17 percent of seats in the Jakarta legislative council, the government of Jokowi and Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama runs well. There were a few disturbances in the deliberations on the city budget for 2014, but it finally was endorsed at the end of February. The coalition established during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) second term (2009-2014) does not provide a good model for how best to run the government. SBY could not tame the coalition of six parties, which was commonly oriented toward protecting the interests of the political elite rather than the interests of the people. The question now is whether the duo of Jokowi-JK should tighten its grip or open the door to members of the rival coalition. If there’s no damning history of political wrongdoing during the electoral process or previously and if elected House members have no criminal records and are committed to fighting big crime when in power, then the four-party coalition is considered final. They should not feel afraid of opposition from the rival coalition that holds the House majority as long as their greatest desire is to improve the republic. As Napoleon Hill says, “Desire is the starting point of all achievements; not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” During its 10 years in the opposition camp, the PDI-P has empowered and introduced changes at the regional level. It is time to give the Golkar Party, the Democratic Party and other parties a chance to work in opposition. Being in the governing coalition versus the opposition camp is not a sign of success or failure in politics. It is a matter of choice and as the late Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer reminds us we should be happy with our choice. Hence, there is no point in building a large coalition;  the empirical record proves that such governing coalitions are forever weak, ineffective and incapable of containing special interests. Indeed, they are unable to manage fundamental problems. Political crisis always arises from the convergence of interests among the elite groups. In John D. Legge’s Sukarno: A Political Biography, former vice president Muhammad Hatta says that the coalition makes the direction of all events ineffective and thus a coalition is unrealistic. It is a false unity on the surface, a thin attachment of various diverse pieces without any real bonds; nothing more than a satay or barbeque-like union. In the end, both Hatta and former prime minister Sutan Sjahrir warned Sukarno that binding all the diverse elements of the young country into a nationalist movement, beautifully polished with pseudo-bonds of unity, was wrong and in the long run would weaken its effectiveness. If the four-leg team play really intends to streamline an effective administration facing a myriad of problems, founding president Sukarno’s teachings of Trisakti and the restoration pledge initiated by the Nasdem party will be able to force the grand coalition to fall apart. Max Weber says the glory of a nation depends on finding a capable leader. The upcoming Cabinet formation and coalition talks will serve as a test of Jokowi’s and Kalla’s leadership abilities. ●