Jakarta – A political expert warned Tuesday that it might be too late for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to improve his performance in key sectors before the 2009 elections.

"The perfect period for Yudhoyono to improve conditions in this country was from January to December of this year, but so far nothing's fully working," Syamsuddin Haris from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences told The Jakarta Post.

He said that during Yudhoyono's first three years in office, the country had failed to properly manage the sectors with the most influence on people's lives.

"The macro economy, including inflation and currency rate, have seen improvement. Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the micro-economic system, with problems like poverty, lack of job creation and rising unemployment remaining," Syamsuddin told a discussion on the results of a survey evaluating Yudhoyono's performance.

"It will be harder for the government to improve things now, because focus will be difficult to achieve ahead of the 2009 election. Political maneuvering at this point will affect the entire government," he said.

The survey, conducted by Airlangga University in Surabaya, found that most people were not satisfied with the job done by Yudhoyono, despite perceived advances in the security, health services and education sectors.

Like previous surveys, the Airlangga poll indicated that, if the election were held this year, Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri would be facing off again with no new faces on the horizon.

"If the final battle were between Yudhoyono and Megawati, that would only plunge the country into an alarming situation and highlight the failure of political parties to bring any improvement to the country," Syamsuddin said.

Although the elections are still two years away, politicians are already maneuvering for leverage in both the upcoming legislative and presidential races.

For example, the Golkar Party will hold a leadership meeting from Nov. 22 to 24 which will evaluate the party's ability to win the election and focus on internal consolidation in preparation for that campaign.

As well, the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) has announced that it has formed a coalition – the National League – comprising of Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) to win the 2009 presidential election.

Speaking at the discussion, Anas Urbaningrum of the Democratic Party said that even in the face of political maneuvers that might threaten the stability of the government, both Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla would continue working together until 2009.

Syamsuddin said it was unlikely that Yudhoyono and Kalla would become partners again in 2009 because Golkar – which the survey predicted would win the next general elections – would not let its chairman continue to be merely the number two person in the country.

"Besides, it would be more effective for Yudhoyono in running the government if he changed his partner, although that person would still probably come from Golkar."