Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Tantalizing suggestions from the upper reaches of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle that it may join forces with the government were shot down by leaders on Sunday, who claimed that the party would not trade its independence for one or two cabinet seats.
Lawmaker Ganjar Pranowo, who represents the party, also known as the PDI-P, in the House of Representatives, said long-time party chief Megawati Sukarnoputri told party cadres to stay the course and abide by an April party congress decision to stay outside the ruling tent. "She said we should resist temptations," Ganjar said.
The apparent tension in the PDI-P has tongues wagging after Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani, party deputy chairwoman for political affairs, on Friday said the party remained open to taking seats in the cabinet and that her father, Taufik Kiemas, had met with the president last month. Puan had also said the party respected Yudhoyono's mandate to rule for five years.
Most observers see the PDI-P's internal rumblings as a sign of both generational pressures in the party, which has always been controlled by the Sukarno family, and talk within the ruling Democratic Party that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will review his ministers' performance in advance of a possible cabinet reshuffle as the first anniversary of his second term in office nears this week.
The PDI-P's image has been rooted in opposition since its founding in 1998, the only real exception being during Megawati's tenure as president from 2001-04. Strategists in the party may worry that giving up its outsider image could cost it dearly at the polls in 2014.
Ganjar said the possibility of joining the ruling coalition remained, but the PDI-P would need a bigger prize than a token seat or two at the ruling table.
"Since the beginning, we are the opposition. Period. And if we are talking about compromise, it should be ideological. It could be about food, trade or economics," Ganjar said.
He added that joining the coalition, which would require convening a party congress, could mean that the PDI-P would be in the position to veto some government actions. "For instance, telling the government to stop a foreign loan," he said.
Maruarar Sirait, PDI-P chairman for youth and sports affairs, agreed, saying that for now the decision by the party as a whole in April to remain in opposition would stand.
"Megawati has gone to many areas and talked to people, and the people want PDI-P to be the balancing party, an opposition party. If we want to take up [government] responsibility, it must be through winning [a general election] in 2014," he said.
Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) said there had always been and would always be factions within the PDI-P. Some party elites, he said, want it to be less antagonistic to the government, while others want the party to remain steadfast in its opposition stance.
In April, Taufik floated the possibility of joining hands with the Democrats, which Megawati later shot down during the party's congress.