Thomas Rizal, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) remains the sole party that has not officially announced support for the upcoming government under Prabowo Subianto.
PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri plans to meet President-Elect Prabowo soon, according to House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani – who is Megawati's daughter.
In response to Puan's announcement, PDI-P spokesman Chico Hakim clarified that the upcoming talks cannot be immediately interpreted as PDI-P seeking to join the Prabowo camp.
"I don't think anything can be confirmed at this point. Puan's statement was somewhat normative, meaning that we have not made an official decision on whether we will join the [Prabowo] government," Chico said in a recent talk show on BTV.
Chico claimed that PDI-P had not had any official discussions on their future stance in the government as they were currently focusing on the regional elections. Indonesians across the archipelago will pick their sub-national leaders, including governors, on Nov. 27.
"Perhaps we will discuss whether PDI-P would join the government after the meeting between Mrs. Megawati and Mr. Prabowo takes place. But of course there are other things that we will take into consideration," Chico said.
He added: "We will not rush things and we will just see how things develop in the coming one-two months."
Puan revealed Saturday that Megawati would meet Prabowo in-person "as soon as possible if God is willing". The House Speaker did not say when the talks would take place. According to Puan, the meeting would focus on building relations and synergy for the sake of the country.
Commenting on speculations that the meeting would culminate into PDI-P joining Prabowo's government, Puan said: "Anything is possible. Nothing is impossible."
PDI-P endorsed Former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and his ticket mate Mahfud MD in the 2024 presidential race. The party, however, won the most votes in the recent legislative election.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/pdip-still-undecided-about-joining-prabowos-governmen