Kennial Caroline Laia & Hizbul Ridho, Jakarta – The Democratic Party's ambiguous stance in Indonesian politics came as no surprise to political experts, who said the decision has provided the party huge leverage over both the pro-government coalition and its opposition rival.
The party's chairman, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, made it clear for the first time on Wednesday where the former ruling party stands in a political landscape, which has been divided into two blocs. It has surprised those who had earlier assumed that the Democrats were part of the opposition Red-White Coalition (KMP).
The Democrats had earlier supported KMP leader Prabowo Subianto in his bid to become president, as well as backing KMP politicians to capture leadership positions in the House of Representatives.
But Yudhoyono said the Democrat Party was never a member of the KMP, or of the rival Awesome Indonesia Coalition (KIH). "The Democratic Party is not a part of the KIH nor the KMP," he said. "Just like in the Cold War. We had the Western bloc and the Eastern bloc. Then there was the Non-Aligned Movement."
Yudhoyono said this in response to speculation that his party was mulling on whether to join the Awesome Indonesia Coalition after a private meeting with his successor, President Joko Widodo on Monday.
The Democratic Party chairman said the meeting was to secure the KIH's support for an emergency regulation in lieu of law, or Perppu, to replace the so-called regional elections law, which eliminates direct elections of governors, district heads and mayors. Instead, the now defunct law provided local legislatures with the authority to elect their respective regional leaders.
The Perppu, which Yudhoyono issued in late October during his final days in office, is effective for just 90 days and expires later this month, at which time the House must decide whether to sustain or reject it.
Hanta Yudha, the executive director of think tank the Poll Tracking Institute, said by announcing that it had always been neutral, the Democrat Party could take advantage of both camps without making any commitment either way.
"With this stance [the Democrats] could do whatever they want. We can say that the Democratic Party is the most privileged party [in Indonesian politics]," Hanta told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.
However, the position could damage the Democrat Party in the long run with voters seeing it as being both being overly pragmatic and opportunistic, particularly as the party didn't divulge this fact early on. "The Democrats only want [to benefit through] political transactions without showing it has principles," he said.
Political analyst Cecep Hidayat of the University of Indonesia said despite this, the Democrats would likely remain neutral with both sides fighting to keep them happy and draw them closer.
"We know that Yudhoyono is a safe player. He wouldn't let his party be told what to do by other parties," he said. "The possibility of the Democratic Party joining either of the two coalitions is still narrow," Cecep said.
The Democrats hold 61 seats in the House. With the party finally revealing its neutrality, the KMP now only has 253 seats over the KIH, with 246.
The Democrats' stance has inspired others to do the same, including some members of the United Development Party (PPP) who have remained loyal to the KMP despite most of their peers switching to the KIH.
PPP politician Dimyati Natakusuma, who originally supported the KMP, said his party had nothing to gain by staying with the opposition bloc.
"We have supported the KMP in their quest to gain strategic positions [in the House] but the PPP got nothing in return," he said. "I think we should follow the [example of the] Democrats. Staying in the middle but benefit from all sides," Dimyati said.