Dicky Christanto and Slamet Susanto, Jakarta – Jusuf Kalla's decision to run for president and pick retired general Wiranto as running mate lacks solid support from with in Golkar, which could threaten both his presidential candidacy and position as party chairman.
Senior officials of the Golkar party warned Kalla on Saturday to immediately embrace those opposing his crucial decision in order to counter a serious threat to his presidential bid and chairmanship of the party.
Kalla, the Vice President, declared at his private residence in Jakarta Friday that Wiranto, who currently chairs the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, is his running mate for the July 8 presidential race.
The declaration was attended by many loyalists. But several top brass of the party were not seen at the event, including Aburizal Bakrie, Muladi, Agung Laksono and Fadel Muhammad, suggesting a bitter internal rift in the Golkar Party.
It is widely known that Aburizal, Muladi and Agung Laksono are among the party's important figures who wanted Golkar to support the reelection bid of the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono, chief patron of the Democratic Party.
"We are now witnessing a star war within the party, thus there is no other way forward for Jusuf Kalla other than to initiate communication with them [his opponents] to avoid any internal damage later on," Golkar deputy chairman Zainal Bintang told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Another Golkar leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said Kalla had not invited him or other senior figures, like Aburizal, Muladi and Agung Laksono, to attend his candidacy declaration.
"So there is no communication at all at this point. I was almost jumping from my seat knowing that Jusuf Kalla was announcing Wiranto's candidacy as his running mate," he told the Post.
When asked about what steps Kalla's opponents may take, he acknowledged that the idea was to wait for Kalla's next political move. "We do not intend to do anything but to see where all of this is going first," he said.
Opposition also came from several local branches, which told Kalla to act rationally by joining the Democratic Party's coalition.
"We should be more rational, and... acknowledge that the Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto pairing is not as popular as the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," Samsul Hidayat, regional party offices spokesman, said as quoted by detikcom.
Golkar deputy secretary Rully Chaerul Azwar, an ally of Kalla's, denied any internal split, claiming what was happening now was merely a "lack of coordination" between the regional offices and the central board.
"We will talk about it during a meeting this week in which Jusuf Kalla will officially report his candidacy to the party. Hopefully, we will not face any protests at the meeting," he said.
In Yogyakarta, in an expected move, the National Mandate Party (PAN) decided Saturday to join forces with the Democratic Party and nominated PAN cadre Hatta Rajasa as vice presidential hopeful for Yudhoyono.