Taufik Darusman – In the 2009 legislative elections, the ruling Democratic Party won nearly 21 percent of the vote, tripling its gain from the previous elections.

Although the Democratic Party was only founded a little over a decade ago, it outperformed the Golkar Party, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and United Development Party (PPP), all of which had been on the national political scene much longer.

The Democratic Party's founder, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was subsequently re-elected for a second and final term. Although Yudhoyono has much to be proud of in the Democrats' feat, he also realizes it faces an uphill battle on the legislative front.

In May, he decided to court other parties to form Setgab, a joint secretariat of coalition parties. Setgab was sold to the public as a communications forum among like-minded parties, but it is meant to be nothing short of a political bloc.

It comprises the Democrats, Golkar, National Awakening Party (PKB), National Mandate Party (PAN) and two Islamic-based parties, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and PPP. They control 423 seats, or 75 percent, of the 560-member House of Representatives, a figure that makes Yudhoyono assured of his position as president until 2014.

So far, Setgab's members have proceeded in tandem, with parties calibrating their moves to achieve a common goal. In recent times, they acted in concert when Yudhoyono nominated new chiefs for the Armed Forces, National Police and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and saw the House approve his choices with little hassle.

But what has so far been a smooth ride may become a bit bumpier in the coming weeks, as the House deliberates the bill on Yogyakarta's special status. The bill looks set to reveal cracks in an alliance that is as precarious as it is interest-driven.

At the heart of the bill is the government's desire to see future governors of the special region of Yogyakarta directly elected, as stipulated by the amended 1945 Constitution. For historical reasons, the sultan of Yogyakarta has always been directly appointed as the governor of the province, an arrangement its citizens are resolved to maintain.

They have found an ally in the PKS, whose House faction chairman, Mustafa Kamal, said that the status quo should be maintained. "We have to be mindful of the realities that prevail in Yogyakarta," he said. But in typical political double-speak, he also said his party had yet to take a stance on the bill.

Setgab's chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, who is Golkar's chairman, meanwhile, has also stated that his party has yet to take a position on the issue. Aburizal was apparently also engaging in the same political double-speak as Kamal when he said "the main thing is that we do not violate the Constitution, and neither the government nor the House should be pressured by regions."

That statement leaves no doubt that Golkar supports direct gubernatorial elections in Yogyakarta. Insiders familiar with the issue say the party is buying time as behind-the-scenes talks are under way for Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, himself a top Golkar figure, to agree with the legislation.

Earlier this month, reports said Setgab's members had agreed to throw their weight behind the government's Yogyakarta bill, sidelining PKS in ways that irritated its leadership. The first salvo came from the PKS's deputy secretary general, Mahfudz Siddiq, who has accused the Democrats and Golkar of dominating the coalition for their own interests.

Ruhut Sitompul, a Democrat henchman, has retaliated by suggesting that the PKS should seek its fortunes elsewhere if it is not happy with the way things are in the coalition. The Democrats' deputy secretary general, Saan Mustopha, went so far as to say it had enough with the PKS, which he accused of rallying coalition members to join the opposition PDI-P in selecting a presidential candidate for 2014.

It remains a mystery why the PKS chooses to oppose a bill that is certainly to be passed into law next year with the full force of the coalition behind it.

A deal has been reached between the Democrats and Golkar on the bill, and there is no way they would allow the PKS to derail what is already on track. The PKS has five seats in Yogyakarta's 40-member provincial legislative council – it is smaller than PDI-P and the Democrats – and seems to be seeking to better its position for the 2014 legislative elections by being seen to be on the side of Yogyakartans.

In Indonesian politics, when push comes to shove, a coalition is as good as it gets.

[Taufik Darusman is a veteran Jakarta-based journalist.]