Vaudine England and Agencies in Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid, going some way to ease political tensions, apologised to Parliament yesterday for a confrontation that stems from his refusal to explain why he sacked two ministers earlier this year.

Speaker of the House Akbar Tandjung, briefing reporters about a letter sent to Parliament by Mr Wahid late on Friday, indicated that the President had not explained the dismissals but would be prepared to do so in a closed session of the legislature if needed. It appeared that Mr Wahid was not apologising for refusing to clarify his stance to Parliament, but for the heightened political tension the standoff has caused. "To solve the problem quickly, he gave his apologies for all the things that came out from all this. He hopes the apology will be accepted by the Parliament," Mr Tandjung said.

Mr Wahid stunned Parliament on Thursday by refusing lawmakers' demands to explain why he sacked two economics ministers, Laksamana Sukardi and Jusuf Kalla, last April.

Commentators had united in criticising his failure to respond ahead of next month's crucial parliamentary session and lower the political temperature. "This is about public accountability," said Hamdan Zoelva of the Crescent Star party (PBB), part of the coalition which brought Mr Wahid to power last October. "The public has the right to know about the decisions behind government policy."

But Mr Wahid had insisted that Parliament had no right to question his constitutional prerogative to hire and fire ministers. He said Parliament's procedural efforts against him were an excuse to attack his presidency. "There are still pig-headed people who want to topple the President. Please try it. The President can only be toppled if he betrays the nation," Mr Wahid said yesterday.

Indicative of fresh moves against him were earlier comments by Mr Tandjung, who suggested that Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri should take over day-to-day governance. But he later toned down his comment, saying Ms Megawati would not be the ultimate decision-maker. "She still has to consult with the President. For important tasks she has to talk them over with the cabinet ministers," Mr Tandjung said.

There were fears that lawmakers' growing anger with the President could result in attempts to impeach him next month if it was found he had breached the constitution. Mr Wahid must address the People's Consultative Assembly on August 7 about his first year in office.

His "pomposity" – in one parliamentarian's words – prior to his apology appeared to be setting the stage for such a showdown. But, despite the threat, one analyst said: "The smart money is still that Wahid will pull this off, having shown everyone in the meantime that he is in supreme power. He won't explain things and Parliament won't be able to unseat him."

Holding back many politicians from forcing Mr Wahid out of office is the dangerous precedent this would set for any successor, who would also have to face Parliament once a year and risk being deposed.