Febriamy Hutapea – Betraying an underlying sense of confidence, the Democratic Party said on Friday that it is content to wait for the results of April's legislative polls before officially selecting its vice presidential candidate to run with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Their attitude is in stark contrast to the apparent mood of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, which has been involved in comparatively frenzied back-room politicking in an attempt to earn maximum leverage from its choice to run with former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum said his party had other priorities.

"We don't want to be like other parties, who think that searching for their vice presidential candidate is like shopping, because we think that we can team up with other parties if we have a clear power base from the results of the legislative elections," Anas said on Friday.

The Democratic Party will hold a national working meeting on Feb. 8 and 9 to discuss the party's preparations for the legislative elections, and to reinforce and strengthen each candidate's strategy in the polls.

"Surveys have shown that our position is good," Anas said, "so we want to improve upon this and elevate our position even higher."

An Indonesian Survey Institute poll conducted in December found the Democratic Party leading in popularity, supported by 23 percent of 2,200 respondents, ahead of the PDI-P's 17 percent.

Anas said the party was content to focus on the legislative elections because it did not want to divert the attention of the current administration by sparking controversy over its pick for the vice presidential slot.

"We want Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to be focused on performing their duties until the end of their term, to fulfill the mandate of the 2004 election," Anas said.

Many analysts predict that Yudhoyono and Kalla will once again team up in the presidential election slated for July.