Jakarta – In a gesture to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Golkar Party is considering picking a family member of the Democratic Party's chief patron to be the running mate of Aburizal Bakrie in the 2014 presidential election.
Golkar chairman Aburizal, popularly known as Ical, has been officially nominated as the party's presidential candidate. Golkar, however, has not named his running mate.
"[Ical's running mate] could be one of the names mentioned in the media. It could be the Army chief of staff [Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo] or even First Lady Ani Yudhoyono," Golkar leader Priyo Budi Santoso said on the sidelines of the party's 48th anniversary at Golkar Headquarters in West Jakarta on Saturday. Pramono is the younger brother of Ani Yudhoyono.
Priyo said, however, his party had not specifically discussed which figure would be picked to be Ical's running mate. Aside from Pramono and Ani Yudhoyono, Golkar is also considering Yogyakarta's Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as a potential candidate.
Priyo, the deputy House speaker, added Golkar would most probably pick a Javanese politician to be Ical's running mate simply in an effort to lure Javanese voters.
A Javanese candidate is believed to be crucial in every presidential election in the country because he or she will appeal to a large number of voters. The Javanese make up the largest ethnic group in Indonesia with around 41.7 percent of the population.
Fellow Golkar politician Zainal Bintang also suggested that Ical, who hailed from Lampung, Sumatra, should choose a Javanese figure to be his running mate.
Zainal said Gen. Pramono, who has had a successful career in the military, would be a perfect match for Ical. "He may become the Indonesian Military [TNI] chief in the near future," he said.
Separately, Ical has set three criteria for anyone willing to be his running mate in the 2014 poll. "The figure must be popular, smart and able to work in a team," he said.
Contacted separately, a senior Democratic Party politician Ahmad Mubarok said the Golkar Party could mention any names they liked to pair with Aburizal, including the President's brother-in-law.
"They can mention any name. But, in the end, who will want to go with Ical? His poor track record may be the obstacle to his bid for the presidency," said Ahmad.
Ahmad, like many of Aburizal's political opponents, used the Lapindo mudflow disaster as ammunition to attack the tycoon's candidacy. They are more than willing to refresh voters' memory about how Aburizal was the one held responsible for that catastrophe.
Golkar's opponents do indeed have some reason to fear because some pollsters have found the party will increase its vote in the 2014 election.
A recent survey from the National Survey Institute (LSN), for instance, states the Golkar Party would get 18.1 percent of the vote, while the Democratic Party only manages 5.9 percent.
"Well, I do not believe in the results of such surveys because they can be manipulated," Ahmad said, adding the survey results could change in the next two years. (riz)