Mega-Kalla may be end for Bakrie

JAKARTA. Jusuf Kalla’s announcement that he may run on a presidential ticket under Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2014 may sound the death knell for the shaky candidacy of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie.

Top politicians from the Golkar Party, the nation’s second largest political party, have expressed concerns on Kalla’s intentions, saying the former vice president’s move might fracture the party’s support for Ical’s presidential bid.

“If Kalla really runs as a vice presidential candidate under Megawati, Golkar will be split. That would be regrettable. Poor Golkar, if that happens,” Golkar deputy chairman Fadel Muhammad told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Another senior Golkar politician, Agung Laksono, said that Kalla remained popular within Golkar and could use his influence to sway votes within the party.

“We must be honest in saying that Kalla, as a former party chairman, still has significant support among Golkar’s members. So the chances are [that Kalla’s announcement] will definitely affect Ical’s nomination,” said Agung, who is also the coordinating people’s welfare minister, said.

Kalla, who is currently chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), said on Sunday that he “wouldn’t mind” running under Megawati, who herself was president from 2001 to 2004.

Kalla said that he would not ask Golkar for permission or an endorsement for his bid, adding that he “would not be representing the Golkar Party” in 2014. Kalla also confirmed that he had been in informal talks with the PDI-P about running on the ticket with Megawati.

The announcement ends speculation that Kalla was the PDI-P’s first choice as a possible running mate for Megawati’s third bid for reelection.

Analysts have said that a Megawati-Kalla ticket would have a significant chance of winning in 2014, despite their age. Kalla will be 72 in 2014, while Megawati will be 67.

Kalla’s intention to run on the lower half of the ticket with Megawati was another blow to Golkar’s presidential aspirations under Ical, after media mogul Surya Paloh, a former Golkar chief patron, abandoned the party to form the National Democratic Party (NasDem), which is itself considered a dark horse in the 2014 legislative elections.

Ical’s spokesman, Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, shrugged off speculation about a Megawati-Kalla ticket.

“Why should I comment on something that has yet to be confirmed? It‘s like predicting a soccer match that has yet to be scheduled,” Mara, who is also Golkar’s deputy-secretary-general, told the Post.

Meanwhile, PDI-P executives have welcomed Kalla’s intention to run with Megawati.

“We take the suggestion as input because we have our own political calculations. As for now, we are still focusing on the legislative elections. The decision on whom we will endorse for the 2014 presidential election is in the hands of our chairperson,” Puan Maharani, Megawati’s daughter and the head of the PDI-P’s faction in the House of Representatives, said.

Separately, political analyst M. Qodari from IndoBarometer described a potential Megawati-Kalla campaign as the ticket to beat in 2014.

“We don’t have any official tickets yet, but our survey said that Megawati was stronger than Ical as a presidential candidate. Kalla was also more popular as a vice presidential candidate than Mahfud MD,” Qodari said, referring to the outgoing chief justice of the Constitutional Court.

In 2004, Kalla, then as now a top member of Golkar, neither asked for nor received the endorsement of Golkar when he ran for vice president under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. At that time, Golkar endorsed former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret.) Wiranto.

Only months after he was elected vice president, Kalla took over Golkar’s leadership from Akbar Tandjung and forged an alliance to support the Yudhoyono administration. (Bagus BT Saragih/ The Jakarta Post)