After two successive presidential election defeats – the latest of which was legally cemented by the Constitutional Court's rejection of his election fraud lawsuit yesterday evening – Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto appears to be resigned to the possibility that the opposition coalition, which his party leads, is crumbling hard.
Today, reports have emerged that leaders of the five parties in the opposition – Gerindra, Democrats, National Mandate Party (PAN), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Bekarya Party – are meeting this afternoon to discuss the future of their coalition, or whatever little of it remains.
"What's clear is that Prabowo is leaving it up to the coalition [members]. If they want to continue then okay, if not then it's not a problem. They all have their rights," Gerindra spokesman Andre Rosiade told Kompas today.
Andre said there will be a press conference after the meeting, which will be held at Prabowo's residence on Jalan Kartanegara, announcing the future of the coalition.
Among the five parties, PAN and the Democrats have expressed the least interest in remaining in the opposition, teasing numerous times publicly that they are open to joining President Joko Widodo's government coalition after the incumbent secured re-election in late May. In fact, a senior Democrat politician today once again reiterated that the party is considering its options after Prabowo's MK defeat.
Despite being the leader of the opposition, even Gerindra hasn't fully committed to continuing the coalition, with a senior party member saying earlier this week that they would evaluate their position in Indonesian politics.
A lot can happen in the next five years of Jokowi's second term, but signs suggest that there will be a lot of movement behind the scenes as politicians and parties wrestle for power in the aftermath of the 2019 elections.