The media have danced to the tune of politicians' music in the past several weeks as we have been treated with news about presidential-pair candidates, as if the world stood still.

Yet, the hectic meetings of the political elite are lacking substance, despite their rhetoric that they are working for the wider interests of the people.

Conspicuously absent are issues such as how they see Indonesia in the next 10 years; their take on the prospect of the current anticorruption drive in the country now that the anticorruption chief is in jail; remedies for our rotten judiciary system; deepening unemployment; or poverty alleviation measures. To be fair, one cannot put the blame entirely on the politicians. When most of the people are happy with the incessant display of power-hungry politicians, the media will simply reflect their wishes.

No matter if the constituents, including television viewers, are the first ones being discarded by the politicians. First these political elites inadvertently or otherwise take out the people's rights to vote.

The poor eligible voters' list is responsible for millions of eligible voters who were allegedly not registered and therefore could not cast their votes in the April legislative elections.

Second, the political elite appear to have abandoned those 104 million people who were able to vote – out of 171 million eligible voters – as soon as they started negotiating power.

Power seems to be what they value the most. The elections tally is reduced to nothing more than a platform to carve up power. Infighting for the greater cause of the nation might be on their lips, but the so-called political coalition is nothing more than a power deal as ideology has been thrown into the rubbish bin.

Islamic-based parties take nationalist parties as allies. The alliance between the Democratic Party (PD) and a string of middle-weight Islamist parties is breaking up these days. On the other side, those who were once political foes have become allies as in the case of the PD and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Nothing could explain this seeming anomaly other than opportunism, which is usually driven by an interest to serve the interests of one's own group instead of the whole nation.

The string of corruption cases in recent years has suggested that the crimes are often politically motivated, which is a sure sign of money politics. The lure of money has trapped many of our politicians not unlike many political leaders in other developing countries.

The legislative elections are a case in point. People from virtually all walks of life are vying for legislative seats in droves. Artists, comedians, bureaucrats and businessmen seem to be more than ready to swap their profession with one that promises more bucks.

The inclusion of family members of well-known politicians in the list of legislative candidates in the April elections or even in the presidential-pair candidate list is a testament to our strong feudalism culture. Money politics and feudalism is a toxic cocktail.

Our tainted political ambience will adversely affect the lot of the people in the near future. For now, one sure thing to happen come July is that more top politicians will be disappointed when they are beaten in the presidential race.

Some may follow the tens of legislative candidates who became insane because they did not make it. Our culture is such that we cannot swallow defeat with grace.