Margareth S. Aritonang – People react differently to authoritarian leadership. Some put up with the pressure before bowing out quietly, while others choose to fight back, sometimes with great fanfare.
Realizing that he had no future in the newly founded National Democratic (NasDem) Party, media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo decided to leave the party for the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) early this year, following his rift with NasDem's founder, Surya Paloh.
In a fight against Hary for control of the party, Surya took over the leadership from Patrice Rio Capella earlier this year. Surya feared that Hary would use his wealth to buy influence within the party, which Surya had personally set up as a splinter faction from the Golkar Party in February 2010.
With his decision to take over the party's leadership, Surya followed the footsteps of patrons of major political parties in the country like President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Gen. (ret.) Wiranto in shutting down democratic processes within their parties in favor of unchallenged leadership.
It remains to be seen if Hary will meet a similar challenge from Wiranto, the chairman of Hanura.
Hary joined Hanura soon after leaving NasDem and now serves as chairman of Hanura's board of patrons. For now, Hary's position seems secure, with his financial contribution giving a new lease of life to the party.
"Pak Hary uniting with this party will be a strategic boost for us in the elections because we will have a wider opportunity to introduce Hanura to the Indonesian public through his media companies," Wiranto told The Jakarta Post recently.
The campaign to challenge the domination of Yudhoyono as the Democratic Party's chief patron was waged by the former party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.
Anas has publicly challenged Yudhoyono, the party's chief patron, ever since he was officially named a graft suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last month, a decision that Anas believes was politically motivated.
Anas left the party following his decision to sign an integrity pact, Yudhoyono's idea, which included a pledge from the signatory to resign from the party at any level if named a suspect for any criminal act including corruption, drug abuse or terrorism.
Anas is now fighting back by mobilizing his supporters at the local level to vote a for new party chairman who will form an alliance with the former chairman.
Many have said that the endgame for the battle could be that Yudhoyono will lose his party just as former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid lost the National Awakening Party (PKB) to a splinter faction led by Muhaimin Iskandar.
Yudhoyono certainly did not want to see Anas taking over the political party that he set up as a vehicle for his presidential candidacy in 2004. Particularly after seeing the man he backed for the party's leadership in 2010, Andi Mallarangeng, lose to Anas.
Many have linked Anas' departure to his growing influence within the party. "Yudhoyono was the reason for the establishment of the Democratic Party. He is the 'sun' of the party, and he will remain the center of power. No second sun is allowed," political analyst Hanta Yuda from the Poll Tracking Institute said.
Soon after Anas left his position, Yudhoyono moved quickly to install his supporters; deputy chairmen Max Sopacua and Jhonny Alen Marbun, his son Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, who is also the party's secretary-general, and party executive director Toto Riyanto, as the party's interim leaders pending an extraordinary party congress to elect a new chairman. Democratic party leaders insisted that this was a type of democracy that the party had been practicing.
"The Democratic Party is indeed a democratic party, whatever people might say out there. Just let us take care of ourselves," Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, the leader of the party in the House of Representatives said.