The establishment of the Coalition for Change and the presidential candidacy of former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan remain unclear until now. A source in the government said that the Nasdem Party, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which previously supported Anies for 2024 elections, have not agreed on his vice presidential candidate.
“The Democratic Party still insists that AHY [Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono] becomes Anies running mate,” the source, who monitors the coalition development, told Indonesia Business Post on February 10, 2023.
Political analyst Hasan Nasby of Cyrus Network said that even though the three parties had supported Anies as a presidential hopeful, they have not agreed on basic issues such as power sharing, vice presidential candidate, the financier of the candidacy and chairman of the coalition.
“There is still a deadlock on who will be the vice presidential candidate for Anies. The leader of the coalition is not decided yet. It is possible that the coalition would fail. Whoever leads the coalition, be it the Democratic Party or Nasdem Party, if there is a deadlock then it fails. If they face a deadlock on the power sharing, it fails. If they can’t agree on who will bear the campaign and political costs, it means the coalition fails,” he said.
Read also: Presidential hopeful Anies Baswedan has a hard time to find running mate for 2024 election
Nasby said the Nasdem Party might still support Anies to run for president post but he was doubtful that the coalition could be established.
The Democratic Party official Ardy Mbalembout said that the party along with Nasdem and PKS still committed to establish the Coalition for Change. He added that AHY has stated support for Anies and allowed him to decide on his running mate.
Surya Paloh’s maneuver
Nasdem Party Chairman Surya Paloh has launched a maneuver seen by many as a move to put pressure on the coalition members and an effort to seek for an alternative position for the party. Paloh met with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s most trusted aide – in London in December 2022.
After the meeting, Paloh and his Nasdem party launched several coalition talks with the Gerindra Party and Golkar Party. Paloh also had a private meeting with Jokowi amidst the growing rumor on a reshuffle, that might see several Nasdem ministers being kicked out from the cabinet.
According to Nasby, Paloh’s maneuver in the government coalition has indicated that Nasdem is still comfortable to position itself as a part of the ruling coalition of establishment.
Read also: Nasdem Party’s second option: Supporting Anies Baswedan as vice presidential candidate
Nasby said that Nasdem had a similar character with the Golkar Party as they both were pro establishment and support the government.
“Nasdem has a better chemistry with Golkar when it comes to issues of the nation. On the other hand, Nasdem is trying to establish a coalition with opposition parties like the Democratic Party and the PKS. These three parties agree to support Anies but they have different characters,” he said.
Paloh’s meeting with Jokowi, Luhut and pro-government coalition parties is a sign of confirmation that if Anies become the president, he would continue Jokowi’s development programs and policy.
“Anies will bring continuation as his tagline, instead of change,” he added.
