Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla has received a much-needed boost of support from party heavyweights in his uphill battle to contest the presidency next July.
On Tuesday, Vice President Kalla met with Golkar chief advisor and media tycoon Surya Paloh at the vice presidential office for a discussion that appeared more a consultation.
"I came to verify [Kalla's] statement about his readiness to contest the presidential election. He replied he was ready," Surya told reporters after the meeting.
Kalla announced his presidential bid last Friday, after 33 heads of the party's provincial branches threw their weight behind him.
But Kalla, faced with rock-bottom popularity ratings and less than solid support from Golkar, was reportedly not confident about taking on his boss and red-hot favorite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Golkar legislator Yuddy Chrisnandi admitted there was a rift within the party over Kalla's bid for the presidency.
"There's a group of party members with double standards: on the one hand, they're loyal to Kalla; but on the other, they're pushing for Kalla to maintain his partnership with Yudhoyono," said Yuddy, who is also mounting a presidential bid.
On Monday, Kalla met with party strategists Burhanuddin Napitupulu and Firman Subagyo, as well as deputy chairman Muladi. During the meeting, the three executives encouraged Kalla not to deviate from the symbiosis he had built up with Yudhoyono since the 2004 presidential election.
However, Burhanuddin told The Jakarta Post that Golkar would fully support Kalla's nomination if the party took the most votes in the legislative elections in April.
"But if Pak Kalla has confirmed his readiness to Surya Paloh, the discussion is over. There is no hope for Kalla to pair up with Yudhoyono," Burhanuddin said Tuesday.
"This means Kalla is set for all the consequences he will face, and we will support his candidacy."
Burhanuddin previously said the Yudhoyono-Kalla partnership would be the strongest combination in the presidential election.
Another Golkar stalwart and presidential candidate, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has warned the party to wait for the results of an ongoing internal survey before publicly announcing its candidate.
"Golkar should explain the ongoing survey to vet presidential candidates, because the public sees that Kalla has been named as Golkar's candidate and will disregard other candidates," he told reporters.
Golkar had promised to unveil its most qualified candidates after April's legislative elections.
A survey by the Information Research Institute says Kalla could win the election if he picked the Prosperous Justice Party's (PKS) Hidayat Nur Wahid as his running mate.
But the PKS says Kalla would have to do a "fit-and-proper test" if he wanted Hidayat on his team.
Golkar's South Sulawesi branch will host a forum in Makassar to invite the party's other branches to push Kalla to proceed with his bid. "Such a meeting is legal, but the decision is not binding for the party," Yuddy pointed out.
He called on the party to fully support Kalla in the race. "Golkar should give all its support to help Kalla win the election."