Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Stephanie Tangkilisan – Moves are afoot within the once all-powerful Golkar Party to replace its unpopular leadership with young reformists in the wake of its thumping legislative elections defeat.
The moves, however, are likely to be met head on by Aburizal Bakrie, arguably one of the nation's most unpopular politicians but a wealthy businessman with deep pockets, analysts say.
Yuddy Chrisnandi, a young party member, officially announced his candidacy for the chairmanship of Golkar on Monday, pledging to shake up the party which has suffered, critics have said, under its current chairman, Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The 41-year-old Yuddy will take on Bakrie, the current coordinating minister for people's welfare, and media mogul Surya Paloh for the position.
Speaking during a press conference to make the announcement, Yuddy pledged to form an opposition within the legislature during the 2009-14 period, a radical strategy given that Golkar, previously a political vehicle for former dictator Suharto, has never been outside the ruling coalition government.
He said if elected chair he would regenerate Golkar's leadership, provide more autonomy for provincial and district-level leaders to nominate their own legislative candidates, and select a presidential candidate by 2011, three years ahead of the next presidential election – a clear reference to the last-minute decision by Kalla to run against Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in this year's presidential election.
Yuddy said he was optimistic that he could beat Bakrie and Paloh, suggesting the two businessmen would likely be busy running their empires and therefore have little time for Golkar.
"I think Golkar members should think about which candidate would benefit them most," he said. "Besides, I think I have a good campaign team backing me up."
There are more than 50 members in Yuddy's campaign team, including a number of important figures from Kalla's presidential campaign team.
The chairman of the new team, Zainal Bintang, was a key figure in Kalla's team. Indra J Piliang, a former campaign spokesman, and Poempida Hidayatulloh, son-in-law of Fahmi Idris who chaired the Kalla's team, also have prominent positions. Other up-and-coming team members include Harlan Sumarsono, Emil Abeng and Egi Masadiah.
Zainal said the support from Golkar's younger generation for Yuddy's campaign was triggered by deep concerns about restoring faith in the party before the 2014 elections.
"We are facing different political challenges compared to those of the past," Zainal said. "So we need new and younger leadership to lead us against the halted program of developing Golkar."
However, Aziz Syamsuddin, a young party member from Lampung, said that Yuddy only had a small chance of victory over Bakrie and Paloh, who have spent much longer lobbying for the support of the provincial and district branches.
"The local leadership boards are the voters who decide who the next chairman will be," Aziz said, "so the candidates must approach local cadres, and at this point I think Yuddy still has a lot of hard work to do."
Iberamsjah, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, predicts that Bakrie will ultimately triumph given his wealth and the nature of most of Golkar's elite.
He also said that Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party would also push for a Golkar leader who would be cooperative with the future government. "And Aburizal is close to SBY – they are a good match," Iberamsjah said.
Syamsudin Haris, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), agreed that Golkar needed "young blood" to lead the party, although there was plenty of potential within the party aside from Yuddy.
"The old generation has failed. Golkar needs new and younger leaders, Paloh and Bakrie are none of these things," he said.