POLITICAL PARTIES MANEUVERING TO FORM COALITIONS

By Andi Abdusslam

Jakarta, March 24 (ANTARA) - Though political parties will form official coalitions only after the announcement of the results of the upcoming April 9 legislative elections, party leaders have since recently begun maneuvering by announcing tentative alliances.

        For their part, three major political parties have evolved the idea of forming an alliance called 'golden triangle' coalition. They are the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the United Development Party (PPP).

        Meanwhile, at least 11 small parties decided to pool their political strength in a grouping called the 'Bloc for Change' coalition.

        Besides, the two 'coalitions' between the major parties and the small ones, the Democrat Party (PD), whose advisory board chairman Susilo Bamgang Yudhoyono is the incumbent and 'out-going' president, has also expressed its intention to form another electoral bloc called 'the golden bridge' coalition. But so far, PD has not mentioned with whom it would form the coalition.

        Associate Chairman of the Democrat Party Anas Urbanighrum only said his party would select parties based on an assessment of their visions, ideologies and viewpoints on Indonesia's future interests, particularly in relation with President Yudhoyono's reelection.

        "We are optimistic we will be able to sit together with some parties we have already met to talk on a more concrete political cooperation," he said on the sidelines of a campaign rally by PD at the Bung Karno Sports Stadium last Friday.

        There are 38 political parties which will take part in the legislative elections on April 9, 2009 to vie for 560 House seats.

        Recently, Golkar Party Vice Chairman Agung Laksono said his party was seeking to develop a possible coalition with big parties for the presidential election in July. He likened the effort to courting. "It is like courting while a decision on who will be chosen still has to be taken later after the implementation of the legislative election," he said after speaking at an election rally for Golkar in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, recently.

        Golkar, he said, would intensify efforts to develop cooperation with all parties, particularly with big ones such as PDIP, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Democrat Party and PPP.

        In a meeting with PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali in South Sumatra over the weekend, Golkar Party Chairman Jusuf Kalla discussed the idea of forming the "golden triangle" coalition among their two parties and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP).

        In the meeting, Suryadharma Ali said, the power of the golden triangle coalition among Golkar, PPP and PDIP would become a magnetic field in the upcoming elections.

        "It is expected that after the golden triangle, there will be other parties that can strengthen the next government," Suryadharma said.

        Suryadharma Ali even expressed optimism that the golden triangle coalition could be expanded to include parties other than Golkar, PPP and PDIP.

        The PPP chairman said that the idea to form a golden triangle coalition began to surface in the meetings between PPP and Golkar, PDIP and Golkar and PPP and PDIP.

        The meetings among the leaders of the three political parties produced a number of commitments. "Based on the commitments we reached together, I then I proposed the establishment of the golden triangle coalition as an initial foundation for a political cooperation," Ali said.

        PDIP leader Megawati Soekarnoputri in a meeting with Kalla and Ali recently agreed to cooperate to set up a strong House of Representatives (DPR) and government.

        However, all commitments reached by the three political parties are still provisional in nature as the real coalitions will be those established after the April 9, 2009 legislative elections.

        According to Kalla, no a single political party has so far discussed forming a coalition with other parties. What they have done until now is limited to political communication.

        "I say there has yet to be a coalition among political parties so far. What we have at present is only political communication," Jusuf Kalla said over the weekend.

        If major parties still wait for the result of the legislative elections, at least 11 small parties have formed an alliance which they called the 'Bloc for Change' coalition. The coalition was formed in order to enable them to win the number of votes needed to nominate a presidential hopeful.

        Based the presidential election law, a political party or a coalition of political parties should win at least 25 percent of the votes in the legislative elections or 20 percent of the seats in the House, before it could nominate its presidential and vice presidential hopefuls.

        The Bloc for Change coalition groups 11 small parties, namely the Reforms Star Party (PBR), Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), National Democratic Party (PDK), The National Ulema Awakening Party (PKNU), National Sun Party (PMB), Indonesian Employers and Workers Party (PPPI), Pioneers' Party (PP), Care for the People National Party (PPRN), Indonesian Democracy Upholders' Party ( PPDI) and Sovereignty Party (PK).

        The Bloc for Change coalition supports Rizal Ramli, a former chief economic minister in Abdurrahman Wahid's administration, as its presidential hopeful.

        On the occasion of the coalition's declaration in the tourist resort province of Bali on Sunday, Ramli said his coalition was not the same as the golden triangle of the Golkar, PDIP and PPP or the golden bridge of the Democrat Party.

        "We, the Bloc for Change coalition, is not the same as their coalitions which only seek power," Rizal Ramli said. ***1*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/E002) (T.A014/A/A014/A/E002) 24-03-2009 19:56:41