GOLKAR'S SUPPORT SOUGHT TO STRENGTHEN JOKOWI'S SECOND TERM BID by Fardah

  Jakarta, Jan 22, 2018 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), who is eying a second term in office by winning the next presidential election to be held in April 2019, recently conducted a modest but significant reshuffle of his cabinet.

        Jokowi swore in Idrus Marham, the secretary general of Golkar Party, as the social affairs minister to replace Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who had resigned to contest for the post of East Java governor in the upcoming regional head elections to be held in June this year.

        Two senior politicians of Golkar -- Airlangga Hartarto and Idrus Marham -- are now part of the Working Cabinet of the Jokowi administration.

        Hartarto, the current general chairman of Golkar, is the industry minister. Jokowi has hinted that he will retain Hartarto in his cabinet.

        Hartarto was already a minister when he was appointed as general chairman of Golkar on December 14, 2017, to replace Setya Novanto, Jokowi had remarked earlier.

        "We already know that Hartarto is a minister. Only one year is left. If a new person is appointed, he would need six months to learn, and if (he) is not a fast learner, it would take another year," the head of state explained.

        The president noted that Hartarto had complete understanding of the industry sector and had mastered it.

        Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla has expressed happiness over the additional seats for Golkar in the working cabinet.

        "This is good for Golkar," Kalla, the former chairman of Golkar, stated after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Marham.

        Golkar's internal turmoil had resulted in Aburizal Bakrie, HR Agung Laksono, Setya Novanto, Idrus Marham, and Hartarto being appointed to the chairman's post during the period between 2014 and 2018.

        Bakrie's term was quite short, as he stepped down to end Golkar's leadership split. At that time, Bakrie had wanted to remain outside the government to play a check and balance role, while Laksono, his rival chairman, had been in favor of the Jokowi government.

        Several senior politicians of Golkar, which usually wins the first or second place in legislative elections, were of the view that the party has no tradition of being in the opposition, so it should be part of the ruling government or support it.

        Until now, Golkar continues to support the Government of Jokowi, a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the winner of the legislative elections in 2014, while Golkar was the runner-up.

        In its extraordinary national congress on December 20, 2017, the Golkar Party had unanimously appointed Industry Minister Hartarto as its new general chairman to replace Novanto, a suspect in a corruption case and is currently detained in the Corruption Eradication Commission's prison cell.

        During the congress, Golkar had also reaffirmed the party's commitment to supporting the Jokowi administration and its bid for a second term.

        Meanwhile, political observer Yusa Djuyandi opined that Jokowi had appointed more Golkar politicians as his ministers to ensure that the House of Representatives (DPR) remains conducive to support his government's policies.

       Bambang Soesatyo, a senior politician of Golkar, is now the speaker of the DPR.

        "Additional seats for the Golkar in the cabinet will significantly facilitate the government's policies, as Jokowi certainly wants the DPR to remain conducive by supporting the executives' policies," he noted.

        Golkar's position in the Cabinet and House gives it a strong bargaining power to support the government's policies.

        "Besides this, it is to have Golkar's support for 2019. Hence, Jokowi hopes that the post-Setnov (Setya Novanto) Golkar remains in the coalition to ensure that the government's policies are safe and to optimize the chances of winning in 2019," he noted.

        Furthermore, with Golkar Party's support, President Jokowi can "sleep soundly" or be at ease in connection with the presidential election, according to Karyono Wibowo, another political observer.

        "To contest in the 2019 presidential election, the threshold is 20 percent of the votes in the House of Representatives (DPR). With Golkar's support, for the time being, Jokowi can 'sleep soundly,'" Wibowo noted in Bandung, West Java, recently.

        The decisions on having senior Golkar politicians in the cabinet were based on political calculations for 2019, as President Jokowi wants to "be close" to Golkar.

        The Golkar Party received a total of 18,432,312 votes, or 14.75 percent, thereby emerging second in the legislative elections in 2014.

        Jokowi is also supported by the National Democratic (NasDem) Party, Hanura Party, and Golkar, apart from his party PDIP.

        By securing the support of Golkar, NasDem, and Hanura, in addition to the PDIP, Jokowi, who is seeking a second term in office, has met the threshold to run for presidency.

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(f001/INE)