PDIP, NASDEM CAN FORM IDEAL COALITION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 12 (Antara) - Observers believe the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) could build an ideal coalition with a strong government if it merged with NasDem and picked Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as its presidential pair-up.          Forming a coalition with the National Democrat Party (NasDem) will be helpful for PDIP to support incumbent Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, in the  presidential race on July 9, 2014, political communications observer Hendri Satrio of Paramadina University said.          "It seems that NasDem is the political party that PDIP badly needs to form a coalition with because PDIP also needs media exposure. The next campaign stage will involve competition through a means of  media publications. This is important to help improve Jokowi's image, and the PDI's itself," Hendri said, referring to the power of media in image-building.          NasDem, according to Hendri, is a political party with a good media image. In the legislative election, NasDem could receive more votes than predicted, based on a number of pollsters quick count results. This is thanks to the media that supports it.          NasDem's chief, Suryah Paloh, is a media magnate and in charge of the Media Group, running a number of daily newspapers and the private Metro TV station.          However, the political communications now being carried out by PDIP is not yet maximally effective in netting votes, as reflected in last Wednesday's legislative elections. In the legislative elections, PDIP vote gains, albeit ranked in the top position, were not overwhelming. Expectations of overwhelming gains through what it called the 'Jokowi Effect' were not well-proven.          The popularity of Jokowi through his 'blusukan' (visits to constituents) style could easily see ups and downs. After all, other PDIP leaders did not follow the blusukan campaign style.          "Megawati Soekarnoputri (PDIP general chairperson) could hardly be seen campaigning in the fields with Jokowi," Hendri said, during a discussion entitled "What's Next, Indonesia" in Jakarta on Thursday.          Therefore, he said, PDIP should not carelessly pick up a vice presidential candidate to pair with Jokowi. PDIP has nominated Jokowi as its presidential candidate to compete in the July 9 presidential elections.          Political communications expert Lely Arrianie Napitupulu of Mercu Buana University said that if Jokowi picked Jusuf Kalla as his running mate for the next presidential elections, the PDIP vote gain is predicted to be considerable.          "It is quite ideal for Jokowi to pair up with Jusuf Kalla. Both of them are fascinating figures with non-greedy political natures, non-ambitious and non-temperamental. They share a blend of similarity in Jokowi's gentleness and Kallas's firmness," she said in Jakarta on Saturday.          According to Lely, if NasDem can encourage Kalla, better known as JK, to pair up with Jokowi, PDIP will face no additional problems.          "PDIP and NasDem are already in the same lines of their political platforms. If NasDem can accommodate JK, the two sides can for sure build convenient communications," asserted Lely.          In the meantime, PDIP has seemingly built intensive communications with NasDem.          Only one day after the legislative elections last Wednesday, PDIP Secretary General Tjahjo Kumolo visited the headquarters of the National Democrat Party (Nasdem) to meet with the party's chief, Surya Paloh, on Thursday.          Tjahjo Kumolo, accompanied by deputy secretary general Hasto Kristianto and chief of the Jokowi for President (JKW4P) success team Andi Widjajanto, admitted that the visit was official and the first made by PDIP officials on the orders of the party's general chairperson, Megawati Soekarnoputri.          He said the visit was aimed at forging an agreement with Nasdem regarding developing the country in the future.          "We talked and discussed about the future of the Indonesian nation, its sovereignty in the fields of politics, economy and character. The views of Megawati Soekarnoputri and Surya Paloh were similar. The discussion will be continued later," he said.          Asked if the meeting was called as PDIP's invitation for creating a coalition, Tjahjo said there was no discussion about building a coalition. The meeting took place because of PDIP's and Nasdem's common views and platforms, he said.          "We were ideologically similar from the beginning. Regarding its implementation, we will see. We have also monitored the political dynamics in other parties. The most important issue was that the ideas of Bung Karno (country's independence proclaimer and first president) be actualized," Tjahjo said.          On Saturday, NasDem chairman Surya Paloh told the press his party had officially decided to merge with PDIP and supported the nomination of Jokowi as PDIP's presidential candidacy.          "We are building cooperation to support PDIP's presidential candidate," Surya Paloh told the press at NasDem's headquarters in Jakarta on Saturday.          He said NasDem had decided to close ranks with PDIP because they share a common vision in creating a presidential system of government.  "We talk a lot about the common desire to understand our common vision and mission that both political parties, the PDIP and NasDem, can implement," stated Surya Paloh.          In the meantime, Jokowi, who met with Surya Paloh on Saturday, said, "We wish to restore the spirit of a strong presidential system for the next government."     He noted that PDIP and Nasdem also have a strong common desire to improve the welfare of the people. What PDIP and Nasdem would build would not be based on transactions, and during the meeting there had been no talk of distribution of ministerial posts.          "We avoid a transactional relationship. We (PDIP and Nasdem) agreed with the idea. We also agreed to avoid it. I expressed my appreciation to Bang (Brother) Surya, who would not prioritize discussions of vice presidential posts or cabinet posts. He has statesmanship," Jokowi said.          PDIP was the winner of the legislative elections on April 9, garnering around 19 percent of the votes, based on the quick vote counts, while Nasdem Party finished eighth with 6.71 percent of votes.          PDIP needs to merge with other parties in order to meet the presidential threshold set at 25 percent of national votes, or 20 percent the 560 parliamentary seats.          On Friday, Surya Paloh indicated he would recommend former vice president Jusuf Kalla to pair up with PDIP presidential candidate Jokowi.     "There is the possibility to nominate JK as Jokowi's running mate. So, we are encouraging him for consideration," Surya Paloh told reporters.          In the meantime, Jusuf Kalla, who is also a former general chairman of the Golkar Party, said on Friday that he would still discuss the matter at a later date.  Asked whether he was ready to be nominated by Nasdem as a potential candidate for the vice presidency, JK said, "Let's discuss it later."    He, however, stated that he was always ready to be nominated as a vice presidential candidate.  "Whatever it was (I am ready to be nominated), as long as the goal was for the sake of the nation," Kalla said. ***1*** (T.A014/INE/H-YH)