Arientha Primanita & Camelia Pasandaran – Analysts on Tuesday painted a picture of Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo as an aloof and ineffectual politician with only himself to blame for losing the backing of the Democratic Party.

It has been a sudden change in fortunes for Fauzi, who only last year was appointed to the advisory board of the Democrats. But the party recently announced that it would back its regional chairman, Maj. Gen. Nachrowi Ramli, a retired Army officer, in next year's gubernatorial election.

Ibramsyah, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia, said that since taking office in 2007, Fauzi had shown he was not the kind of tough leader Jakarta needed to solve its problems.

He pointed to the traffic gridlock and transportation woes in the city, all of which he said had gotten worse on Fauzi's watch. Ibramsyah suggested that Jakarta needed a leader who was more streetwise.

"Fauzi is awkward and formal, even with those within his administration," he said. "He calls himself an expert and thinks very highly of himself. This makes it difficult for people to approach him. This is even expressed in his policies. Take the policy on taxing food stalls. There is nothing pro-people about that."

Ibramsyah was referring to a proposed 10 percent tax on all food stalls in the capital, which the administration was forced to back down on following howls of protest from consumers and vendors alike.

When Fauzi was appointed to the advisory board of the Democrats – a party controlling 32 of the 94 seats in the City Council – Ibramsyah said at the time that he had played his hand too soon.

The analyst said Fauzi's inclusion on the 30-member board would influence his decision-making and could color his position on city development projects. Fauzi, he added, should have bided his time before officially joining the board, considering that there were still two years left in his term.

But if recent developments have Fauzi concerned, he didn't show it on Tuesday. The governor brushed off the decision by the Democrats, saying it was the people – not the party – who elected the governor. "I haven't given it much thought," he said. "My job is to be governor now, and I will do as best I can."

The Democrats said they made the decision to back Nachrowi in next year's election at a meeting in November.

Hadar Gumay, chairman of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), said Fauzi now had two choices, neither of which was particularly appealing: leave the Democrats and look for other parties to support him or run as an independent. "But it would be disastrous for him to leave the Democrats at this juncture. It would ruin his image," he said.

Yunarto Widjaja, from Charta Politika, said Nachrowi had an electability factor that Fauzi lacked after more than three years in the job.

"Nachrowi's military background helps," he said. "Nationwide, someone with a military background is considered a magnet for society, because they exude two primary qualities: firmness and bravery. This helps, particularly for a city like Jakarta with all its complex problems."

Fauzi's predecessor, Sutiyoso, was a former Army general who served under five presidents in a span of 10 years.