NasDem, opposition parties seek unity on shaky ground

Yerica Lai (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Jakarta   ●   Mon, January 30 2023

Supporters of the Coalition for Change, a political alliance between the NasDem
Party and the only two opposition parties in the legislative body, the Democratic Party
and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), are seeking to solidify their political
partnership amid speculations the prospective coalition is now dead on arrival.

The potential alliance, which is set to serve as a political vehicle for former Jakarta
governor Anies Baswedan in the 2024 presidential race, remains on shaky ground.
The parties have yet to find common ground regarding the question of who will run
alongside Anies, the strongest challenger to progovernment presidential hopefuls.  
In a joint press conference following a meeting of party representatives at Anies’
private residence in Cilandak, South Jakarta, the parties claimed to have agreed to
officiate their partnership, but stopped short of setting an exact date.

“All of the stages [of negotiation] went well… We will prepare ourselves to hold a
joint declaration at the right time,” Sudirman Said, a spokesman for Anies, told
reporters, in an apparent attempt to highlight the progress in the coalition talks. In a
post uploaded on his official Instagram account, the former education minister
claimed the parties were more solid than ever, saying they were all ready to “move
forward together”. Analysts, however, said the joint presser at Anies’ residence
reflected his attempt to keep his presidential bid alive than the actual state of the
coalition’s solidity. 

NasDem, Dems tensions

The meeting came only days after a handful of elites from NasDem, which has
officially declared its support for Anies, paid an unexpected visit to the newly
launched joint secretariat for the Gerindra Party-National Awakening Party (PKB)
alliance, drawing speculation that NasDem has grown impatient with its prospective
coalition partners and may have another plan in mind, including joining the Gerindra-
PKB coalition.
The Coalition for Change members have reached a deadlock on who will serve as
Anies’ running mate. NasDem chairman Surya Paloh initially granted Anies the
freedom to pick his own running mate to maintain solidity of his Cabinet if he was
elected. However, as the coalition talks progressed, NasDem suggested that Anies
pick external figures to ward off horse-trading and put coalition members on an equal
footing. The Democrats and PKS have reportedly insisted on having their best
members as the vice-presidential candidate as part of the coalition deal, with the
former offering party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and the latter reportedly
considering nominating former West Java governor and party member Ahmad
Heryawan.

NasDem deputy chairman Ahmad Ali publicly questioned last Wednesday whether
Democrats would remain in the coalition if Agus was not picked as Anies’ running
mate, accusing the leading opposition party of undermining the coalition talks.
“NasDem's visit to the Gerindra-PKB joint secretariat sent a strong message to the
Democrats-PKS that the ongoing negotiation to form a coalition together could fail if
each member insisted on their stance,” said Parameter Politik executive director Adi
Prayitno. “NasDem wanted to show that if the coalition failed to crystalize, it is very
easy for it to join other coalitions of progovernment parties, when it may not be a
different story with Dems and PKS who have always kept their distance from the
government.”

A breakthrough?
In response to NasDem’s accusations, the Democrats officially declared support for
Anies’ candidacy without fanfare, with Agus calling Anies a figurehead for “change”
and “reform” for the party in a written statement, not in a big media event. He also
said that the party would let Anies decide who would eventually serve as his running
mate. "We are rational. Don't let the negotiation to determine the vice presidential
candidate become a roadblock to the formation of the Coalition for Change,” Agus
said. “We have no problem with criteria for VP. That’s the right of the presidential
nominee.”

Agus’ remark may signal progress in the coalition talks between NasDem and the
Democrats, said Agung Baskoro of Trias Politika Strategis, but still there was no clear
commitment from the party. “Agus is still wishy-washy on his stance. It would only be
a good sign if he decisively and clearly declares that he is willing not to be nominated
by Anies as his running mate. That has been the root cause of the stalemate,” he
added. It remains to be seen if Anies could serve as a powerbroker that could help
his potential backers reach an agreement over the VP question, Agung said.

Surya-Jokowi meeting
The other issue that could put the coalition talks between NasDem and the
opposition parties to rest is the possibility that NasDem would make a U-turn on
Anies’ nomination due to growing pressures on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to
expel it from the ruling coalition by removing its ministers in the next Cabinet shake-
up. “The risks [of supporting Anies] seem to have made Surya Paloh, as the main
captain of the Nasdem Party, lose confidence… Surya should immediately make a
clear decision on whether he would be pro-change or pro-status quo,” said Institute
for Democracy and Strategic Affairs (Indostrategic) executive director Khoirul Umam.

Surya held a more than one-hour closed-door meeting with President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo at the Palace on Thursday, according to party officials. It was the first
meeting after signs of straining relationship between the two political figures following
NasDem’s move to endorse Anies. The meeting took place after his talk with
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, a close
Jokowi ally, in London on Dec. 13, 2022.

NasDem’s central board executive Sugeng Suparwoto said on Friday that he

believed the 2024 elections was raised during the discussion and that meeting was to
foster stronger relationship between the two. NasDem, he said, would continue to
support the Jokowi government despite its support for the opposition figurehead,
Anies. (ahw)

This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "NasDem, opposition

parties seek unity on shaky ground". Click to
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seek-unity-on-shaky-ground.html.