Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Debate about the need for the Golkar Party to name a presidential candidate before the April legislative elections has sharpened an already damaging internal rift within the 2004 poll-winning party, analysts said on Tuesday.

Airlangga Pribadi, a political analyst at the state Airlangga University, said Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla's faction believed that the party should focus on winning the April elections instead of screening presidential candidates, as it expected to maintain the coalition with the Democratic Party in July's presidential election.

This view was not shared by the faction of Agung Laksono, deputy chairman, and Surya Paloh, Golkar's advisory council chairman, who believe Golkar should name its presidential candidate before the April elections.

"The two groups are the main ones. There is also a smaller faction that supports the sultan and a faction led by Akbar Tandjung," Airlangga said, referring to Golkar advisory council member Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and the former Golkar chairman.

In the absence of a Golkar endorsement, the sultan has announced that he would stand on his own and has approached other parties to seek backers for his presidential bid. Akbar wanted a party convention to select candidates for the presidency and vice presidency, a move that Kalla has dismissed as a waste of time.

Ikrar Nusa Bakti, political expert of the Indonesia Science Institute, said Kalla seemed reluctant to run as a presidential candidate because a number of opinion polls have showed that his popularity was low among voters.

"He would not mind becoming a vice president as long as the party has a say in the government, even if Golkar wins more than 20 percent of the votes in the April election," Ikrar said.

The rift between the two Golkar leaders was visible when Agung two days ago began seeking input from regional chapters on potential presidential candidates, a move that had been scheduled for March or May, said M. Qodari, director for the IndoBarometer survey group. The move was made while Kalla was overseas. Paloh has also suggested that Golkar sever ties with the Democratic Party and form a coalition with other parties like the rival Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.

"Kalla has been able to contain the rift so far. But Agung's group and other factions are likely to intensify the pressure since the Democratic Party has not named Kalla as Yudhoyono's vice presidential candidate," Paloh said, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Party.

"This is not the will of one of two groups only. The selection is the mandate from the Golkar national meeting in November. We will name the presidential and vice presidential candidates after the April poll," Agung said, defending his move. He said Kalla was informed about the process.

Akbar has accused Kalla of using the party to pursue his interest in running as Yudhoyono's vice presidential candidate.

"As leaders, we must put our party interests beyond our personal goals," Akbar said. "Golkar is a big party and has the chance to endorse its own presidential candidate. How could a big party like Golkar not have the confidence to endorse its own presidential candidate?"