Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Golkar Party leader Jusuf Kalla said Friday he settled his feud with People's Conscience Party (Hanura) head Wiranto, who has dropped his legal complaint against the Vice President.
"I have met with Pak Wiranto. It was just an ordinary get-together to maintain good relations. Everything is OK between us," Vice President Kalla told a press briefing at his office.
The peace agreement will allow both parties to focus on their preparations for next April's legislative elections.
Wiranto became enraged when Kalla complained about the "freeloaders" Golkar had borne during its bid to have elected its presidential candidate in 2004 at a Golkar convention recently.
Although Kalla claimed he had not mentioned any names, Wiranto deemed that the Golkar leader had been directly referring to him. On Nov. 5, Wiranto filed a legal complaint against Kalla, demanding the accusation be clarified or he would file a lawsuit.
The two met for two hours Tuesday over dinner at the Borobudur Hotel in Central Jakarta, which Wiranto described as a reconciliatory meeting.
Wiranto said on his party's website that Kalla had apologized for his remarks. The website reported that during the meeting, Kalla had admitted to uttering the word "freeloaders", but that he had not been referring to Wiranto. Kalla said he recognized Wiranto as a Golkar cadre from the military wing.
Wiranto was formerly the commander of the Indonesian Military, which is one of Golkar's three main pillars of support, along with bureaucrats and politicians.
Kalla said he had issued the controversial statement to remind Golkar of how easy it was for outsiders to crash the convention. For that reason the party would not hold a convention to select its presidential aspirant for the 2009 election, Kalla said.
Wiranto was selected Golkar's presidential nominee in 2004, along with his running mate Nahdlatul Ulama Solahuddin Wahid. The pair were disqualified after finishing third in the first-round of the election.
Wiranto also complained about Kalla's statement that he had quit Golkar to found Hanura without permission. Wiranto established Hanura with his former military colleagues and other former Golkar politicians.
Asked if he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting with Kalla, Wiranto said he had never meant to take legal action against Kalla. "I just fought for the truth," he said.
Golkar and Hanura are among 38 political parties that will vie for 550 House of Representatives seats in the 2009 legislative elections.
A number of surveys have ranked Hanura as the most popular leader among parties that will make their election debuts next year. Golkar is out to win 30 percent of popular votes, despite its poor showing in recent surveys.