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<div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 636px;"> <tbody><tr style="height: 38.25pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">  <td style="height: 38.25pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 474.15pt;" valign="top" width="632">  <h1 align="center" style="margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 236.3pt left 379.35pt right 472.65pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt;">PDI-P   and the unavoidable coalition<o:p></o:p></span></h1><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "FranklinGothic-ExtraCond","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: FranklinGothic-ExtraCond;">Salvatore Simarmata  ;</span>   <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">A   political communication researcher, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">A   lecturer at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">JAKARTA POST, 12 April 2014<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                      </span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; tab-stops: 206.35pt 268.65pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                                                                          <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; tab-stops: 164.95pt 187.0pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">                                                              <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr>  <td style="padding: 0cm 2.8pt 0cm 0cm; width: 468.0pt;" valign="top" width="624">  <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Far   below the expectations of many, the legislative election results may pose a   rocky trajectory for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for   the upcoming presidential election and subsequent government formation. A coalition   government is, sadly, unavoidable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The   small gain of PDI-P in the April 9 election was far off the predictions of   pre-election surveys, which estimated the party’s share of the vote to hit,   at least, 20 percent thanks to Joko Widodo’s “Jokowi effect”. On the   contrary, the Jakarta governors’ “effect” did very little for the party’s   performance. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, what   went wrong? Nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What   happened was that there is no real correlation between the PDI-P as a party   and its presidential candidate Jokowi. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The   positive predictions for Jokowi’s presidential nomination were driven by the   mass media’s portrayal of Jokowi’s success story as mayor of Surakarta and   the unprecedented gubernatorial election win in Jakarta. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However,   when Jokowi appeared on TV or paid his campaign obligations to the party,   very rarely, if any, he spoke or reflected on his agenda as a presidential   candidate for the party. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In   comparison, if we look at the way the Gerindra Party’s presidential   candidate, Prabowo Subianto, campaigned we see that he positioned himself as   a presidential candidate and, despite his troubling past, spoke with specific   detail about programs concerning the economy and other national interests.   Prabowo gave voters a future reality he would fight for. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It would   be different had Jokowi been nominated, for instance, in January 2014, with   specific political messages concerning how he would run the country as a   president in every campaign or media appearances. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is   a huge incentive for running focused and specific campaigns as voters are so   bored with the old style of politics and the crazy promises it brings. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now that   the public has made up its mind, the PDI-P has a challenge ahead: How will   they form a coalition to win the July presidential election?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First,   the PDI-P should avoid the same coalition mistake of the incumbent party. To   do that the PDI-P should base its coalition partnership on a firm ideological   foundation with a practical governing agenda, which will include how they   will agree to appoint members of the cabinet from highly competent   professional figures instead of from party members with a million hidden   political agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It   means, in a sense, the coalition should not be based on ministerial-seat   distribution but on how to work together to boost the nation’s development,   welfare of the people and prosperity through philosophical contribution,   observation, evaluation and research-based policy recommendations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second,   the PDI-P should avoid establishing a coalition with parties that are corrupt   in the eyes of the public. Corruption is the number one public enemy in this   country. Breaking the convention will distance the PDI-P from the impression   of a reformist party, which will certainly disappoint people. Public disappointment,   like what the Democratic Party is facing now, results in a shocking plummet   of electoral gain, in the Dems’ case from 20 percent in 2009 to only 9 in   2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Third,   the PDI-P should lay out a political agenda for the country for the next five   years or more. The popularity of Jokowi will not help if the political   machine backing him does not have a clear and solid political program to be   achieved when they govern. Until now, the public have not been exposed to a   thorough roadmap of the PDI-P political master plan for this nation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fourth,   Jokowi should start acting like a presidential candidate in a much more   optimistic posture. Giving perspective and strong political standpoint on   issues posed by journalists is highly needed and much better than avoiding it   with short phrases. Jokowi absolutely has a unique personality and style of   leadership. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However,   as a presidential candidate, Jokowi should show the public how he will solve   the problems that the public faces while setting goals as to where the nation   is heading, for instance in the context of a borderless ASEAN Economic   Community in the coming years. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Certainly,   Jokowi will not entirely handle practical economic details as he will have   ministers. But, still, people want to know how he approaches important issues   personally.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fifth,   the PDI-P should not merely focus on forming a coalition to win the   presidential election. There is a hidden treasure in politics of how the   PDI-P could contribute to the consolidating of our democracy, which is   motivating other parties to form a parallel coalition. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By   refusing to hold a coalition with as many as possible parties, the PDI-P will   indirectly push other parties to form a coalition so they could contest the   election. In the end, we will have a much more equal contestation from all   groups of coalition.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shortly   after the quick-count results were revealed, almost all party leaders said   they were open to all parties to form a coalition. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That   would mean nearly all the parties out of 12 will have a claim to seats in the   House of Representatives. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The   reason they insistently argued was that given the scale of the country no   single party would be able to solve the problems it has now. What a perfect   pretext. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%;">●</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>

PDI-P and the unavoidable coalition Salvatore Simarmata ; A political communication researcher, A lecturer at Atma Jaya Cat...

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