Grand Coalition "All Jokowi's Men" Strengthening, Government Party Seriously Exploring
Political parties supporting President Joko Widodo's government continue to explore the formation of a grand coalition that will merge the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) and the Great Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KKIR).
Monday (10/4/2023) yesterday, the exploration to form a grand coalition was carried out with a meeting between the General Chair of the Golkar Party Airlangga Hartarto and the General Chair of the Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) Hary Tanoesoedibjo at the Golkar DPP office, Jakarta.
"We exchanged ideas about future plans from the existing coalition, both in the grand coalition and from the KIB (United Indonesia Coalition) coalition," Airlangga said at a press conference after the meeting.
Airlangga said that a grand coalition consisting of many political parties was needed because Indonesia is a big country.
Moreover, according to him, Indonesia also faces many challenges in the future after going through the Covid-19 pandemic so it requires political stability which can be achieved if the general chairmen of political parties communicate properly and smoothly.
"This big coalition is really needed so that we can break through the existing challenges, namely uncertainty, both globally and related to the weather and related to what Indonesia must do in a situation full of uncertainty," said Airlangga.
In the same vein, Hary Tanoe also supports the discourse on forming a grand coalition to ensure the sustainability of the programs that have been implemented by President Joko Widodo's administration.
"What he said earlier was the grand coalition, which is of course very important in maintaining the continuity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, especially the programs that have been built by our president, Mr. Jokowi," said Hary Tanoe.
Airlangga and Hary Tanoe also ensure that communication between the two parties and with other political parties will continue to be carried out in order to realize the formation of the Grand Coalition.
In a separate place, the General Chair of the National Awakening Party (PKB) also met with the General Chair of the Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto at Prabowo's residence, Jalan Kertanegara.
Muhaimin is the fourth general chairman of the party who visited Prabowo last week after previously there were Hary Tanoe, General Chair of the Crescent Star Party Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and General Chair of the National Mandate Party who visited Kertanegara.
Prabowo said that his meeting with Muhaimin was only a regular meeting of the two political parties that had formed the KKIR.
However, Muhaimin said that his party supported the discourse on forming a grand coalition that was continuing.
"Everyone, adding troops, adding strength is better," said Cak Imin.
Open the Doors for PDI-P
The parties that initiated the grand coalition also opened the door for PDI Perjuangan to join the coalition.
To note, there are five parties that are being discussed as part of the grand coalition, namely the Golkar Party, Gerindra Party, PKB, PAN, and PPP.
The five parties supporting the government were present at the meeting with President Joko Widodo at the PAN DPP office two weeks ago, PDI-P and Nasdem were absent from the meeting.
The Nasdem Party, which is part of the coalition supporting Jokowi, is known to have 'crossed over' by forming the Coalition for Change for Improvement with the Democrat Party and the Prosperous Justice Party which carried Anies Baswedan as a presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, PDI-P does not yet have a coalition, even though the party has enough votes to run for president without forming a coalition with other parties.
However, it is not impossible for the PDI-P to enter into a grand coalition which will emphasize that this coalition is a continuation of the coalition supporting Jokowi.
"This is an open coalition, open to anyone who wants to strengthen the grand coalition," said Airlangga.
Secretary General of the Golkar Party Lodewijk F Paulus also stated that it is possible that lobbying for the PDI-P to join the grand coalition has already been carried out at the general chairperson level.
Meanwhile, Prabowo revealed that PDI-P DPP Chair Puan Maharani had invited the Gerindra Party to meet with the PDI-P.
"She (Puan) said that maybe soon we will be arranged for political communication. I think all parties are open to political communication," said Prabowo.
Puan herself has said that her party agrees with the discourse on merging KIB and KKIR into a grand coalition.
Coalition "All President's Men"
The attitude of Jokowi's supporting parties which are now planning to form a grand coalition cannot be separated from Jokowi's role.
Jokowi also considered that the discourse on merging KIB and KKIR was "appropriate".
"Suitable. I just said it fits. It is up to the party leaders or a combination of party leaders. For the good of the country, for the good of the nation for the people, things that are related, can be discussed, it will be better," Jokowi said after meeting with five political parties at the PAN DPP office, two weeks ago.
However, Jokowi emphasized that he would not interfere in merging the coalition.
“It was the party leaders who spoke. I'm just listening to it," Jokowi said.
Political analyst from the University of Indonesia Aditya Perdana assessed that efforts to form a grand coalition depart from a number of practical considerations for the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres).
"In the eyes of the elite, the need for a grand coalition to be carried out is based on considerations, first, the need for presidential and vice presidential candidates who can continue Pak Jokowi's development agenda in the next period," Aditya told Kompas.com, Sunday (9/4/2023) .
Aditya also sees that these political elites need to win the 2024 presidential election through figures who have high electability.
"Therefore, there is a chance that the presidential election will only be held in one round. The argument is of course related to the efficiency of the election budget," said Aditya.
So far, the wind seems to be blowing towards Prabowo Subianto, the general chairman of the Gerindra Party as well as the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia who appears to have been given political endorsement from Jokowi, as well as Ganjar Pranowo, the Governor of Central Java who is also a PDI-P cadre.
These two figures are indeed regulars of the top three politicians with the highest electability apart from former Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan who has been supported by Nasdem, PKS and Democrats.
"Nevertheless, the factors for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in the determination and certainty of this grand coalition are important," said Aditya.
"It is not easy to match presidential and vice presidential candidates with good chances of being elected based on the results of many existing surveys," he continued.
The issue of the candidate for president who is likely to be supported by this grand coalition--should it be formed--is a challenge in itself because there is a chance that the PDI-P will also join.
PDI-P is considered to have the strongest bargaining value as the political party that won the 2019 election and can carry its own presidential and vice presidential candidates.
"Whoever is popular as a candidate for vice president, of course, has a good chance because Ganjar's electability is high. The problem is that within the PDI-P there has not been a decision on which of the two names will be officially nominated," said Aditya.
Koalisi Besar "All Jokowi's Men" Kian Menguat, Partai Pemerintah Seriusi Penjajakan
Partai-partai politik pendukung pemerintahan Presiden Joko Widodo terus menjajaki terbentuknya koalisi besar yang akan meleburkan Koalisi Indonesia Bersatu (KIB) dan Koalisi Kebangkitan Indonesia Raya (KKIR).
Senin (10/4/2023) kemarin, penjajakan untuk membentuk koalisi besar dilakukan dengan adanya pertemuan antara Ketua Umum Partai Golkar Airlangga Hartarto dan Ketua Umum Partai Persatuan Indonesia (Perindo) Hary Tanoesoedibjo di kantor DPP Golkar, Jakarta.
"Kami bertukar pikiran mengenai rencana ke depan dari koalisi yang ada, baik itu di koalisi besar maupun dari koalisi KIB (Koalisi Indonesia Bersatu)," kata Airlangga dalam jumpa pers seusai pertemuan.
Airlangga menuturkan, koalisi besar yang terdiri banyak partai politik diperlukan karena Indonesia adalah negara yang besar.
Apalagi, menurut dia, Indonesia juga menghadapi banyak tantangan ke depan setelah melalui pandemi Covid-19 sehingga membutuhkan stabilitas politik yang dapat dicapai jika para ketua umum partai politik berkomunikasi dengan baik dan lancar.
"Koalisi besar itu sangat diperlukan agar kita bisa menerobos tantangan-tantangan yang ada, yaitu ketidakpastian, baik itu di global maupun terkait dengan cuaca dan terkait dengan apa yang Indonesia harus lakukan dengan situasi penuh ketidakpastian," kata Airlangga.
Senada, Hary Tanoe juga mendukung wacana pembentukan koalisi besar untuk memastikan keberlanjutan program-program yang sudah dijalankan oleh pemerintahan Presiden Joko Widodo.
"Yang tadi beliau sampaikan koalisi besar, yang tentunya sangat penting dalam menjaga kontinuitas NKRI, khususnya program-program yang telah dibangun oleh presiden kita Bapak Jokowi," kata Hary Tanoe.
Airlangga dan Hary Tanoe pun sama-sama memastikan bahwa komunikasi antara kedua partai maupun dengan partai politik lainnya akan terus dilakukan demi mewujudkan dibentuknya Koalisi Besar.
Di tempat terpisah, Ketua Umum Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB) juga bertemu dengan Ketua Umum Partai Gerindra Prabowo Subianto di kediaman Prabowo, Jalan Kertanegara.
Muhaimin merupakan ketua umum partai keempat yang menyambangi Prabowo sepekan terakhir setelah sebelumnya ada Hary Tanoe, Ketua Umum Partai Bulan Bintang Yusril Ihza Mahendra, dan Ketua Umum Partai Amanat Nasional yang bertamu ke Kertanegara.
Prabowo menyebutkan, pertemuannya dengan Muhaimin hanyalah pertemuan berkala dari kedua partai politik yang sudah membentuk KKIR itu.
Akan tetapi, Muhaimin menyampaikan bahwa partainya mendukung wacana membentuk koalisi besar yang terus bergulir.
"Semua, tambah pasukan, tambah kekuatan lebih baik," ujar Cak Imin.
Buka Pintu bagi PDI-P
Partai-partai yang menggagas koalisi besar juga membuka pintu bagi PDI Perjuangan untuk bergabung ke koalisi tersebut.
Untuk diketahui, ada lima partai yang diwacanakan menjadi bagian dari koalisi besar, yakni Partai Golkar, Partai Gerindra, PKB, PAN, dan PPP.
Lima partai pendukung pemerintah itulah yang hadir dalam pertemuan dengan Presiden Joko Widodo di kantor DPP PAN, dua pekan lalu, PDI-P dan Nasdem absen dalam pertemuan tersebut.
Partai Nasdem yang menjadi bagian koalisi pendukung Jokowi diketahui telah 'menyeberang' dengan membentuk Koalisi Perubahan untuk Perbaikan bersama Partai Demokrat dan Partai Keadilan Sejahtera yang mengusung Anies Baswedan sebagai calon presiden.
Sementara itu, PDI-P memang belum memiliki koalisi, meskipun partai itu punya cukup suara untuk mencalonkan presiden tanpa berkoalisi dengan partai lain.
Akan tetapi, bukan tidak mungkin PDI-P masuk ke dalam koalisi besar yang akan menegaskan bahwa koalisi tersebut merupakan lanjutan dari koalisi pendukung Jokowi.
"Ini koalisi terbuka, terbuka untuk siapa saja yang ingin memperkuat koalisi besar," kata Airlangga.
Sekretaris Jenderal Partai Golkar Lodewijk F Paulus pun menyebutkan bahwa bisa saja lobi-lobi agar PDI-P bergabung ke koalisi besar sudah dilakukan di tingkat ketua umum.
Sementara itu, Prabowo mengungkapkan bahwa Ketua DPP PDI-P Puan Maharani telah mengajak Partai Gerindra untuk bertemu PDI-P.
"Beliau (Puan) mengatakan mungkin sebentar lagi kita akan diatur untuk komunikasi politik. Saya kira semua pihak terbuka untuk komunikasi politik," kata Prabowo.
Puan sendiri sudah pernah berbicara bahwa partainya setuju dengan wacana menggabungkan KIB dan KKIR menjadi sebuah koalisi besar.
Koalisi "All President's Men"
Sikap partai-partai pendukung Jokowi yang kini hendak membentuk koalisi besar agaknya tidak lepas dari peran Jokowi.
Jokowi pun menilai wacana meleburkan KIB dan KKIR adalah sebuah hal yang "cocok".
“Cocok. Saya hanya bilang cocok. Terserah kepada ketua-ketua partai atau gabungan ketua partai. Untuk kebaikan negara, untuk kebaikan bangsa untuk rakyat, hal yang berkaitan, bisa dimusyawarahkan itu akan lebih baik,” ujar Jokowi seusai bertemu dengan lima partai politik di kantor DPP PAN, dua pekan lalu.
Akan tetapi, Jokowi menegaskan bahwa dirinya tidak akan ikut campur terkait penggabungan koalisi.
“Yang berbicara itu ketua-ketua partai. Saya bagian mendengarkan saja,” kata Jokowi.
Analis politik dari Universitas Indonesia Aditya Perdana menilai, upaya pembantukan koalisi besar berangkat dari sejumlah pertimbangan praktis untuk Pemilihan Presiden (Pilpres) 2024 mendatang.
"Dalam kacamata para elite, kebutuhan koalisi besar ingin dilakukan atas dasar pertimbangan, pertama, perlunya calon presiden dan wakil presiden yang dapat melanjutkan agenda pembangunan Pak Jokowi di periode berikutnya," kata Aditya kepada Kompas.com, Minggu (9/4/2023).
Aditya juga melihat bahwa para elite politik ini butuh memenangi Pilpres 2024 melalui sosok-sosok yang punya elektabilitas moncer.
"Sehingga, ada peluang agar pelaksanaan pilpres hanya dilakukan satu ronde saja. Argumennya tentu terkait dengan efisiensi anggaran pemilu," ujar Aditya.
Sejauh ini, angin tampak bertiup ke arah Prabowo Subianto, Ketua Umum Partai Gerindra sekaligus Menteri Pertahanan RI yang dikesankan diberi endorsement politik dari Jokowi, selain juga Ganjar Pranowo, Gubernur Jawa Tengah yang juga kader PDI-P.
Dua sosok ini memang menjadi langganan tiga besar politikus dengan elektabilitas tertinggi selain mantan Gubernur DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan yang telah didukung Nasdem, PKS, dan Demokrat.
"Namun demikian, faktor capres dan cawapres dalam penentuan dan kepastian koalisi besar ini adalah penting," ujar Aditya.
"Tidak mudah mencocokkan figur capres dan cawapres dengan peluang keterpilihan yang baik berdasarkan hasil banyak survei yang ada," ia melanjutkan.
Soal sosok capres yang kemungkinan diusung koalisi besar ini--seandainya jadi terbentuk--menjadi tantangan tersendiri sebab ada kans PDI-P turut bergabung.
PDI-P dianggap memiliki nilai tawar yang paling kuat sebagai partai politik pemenang Pemilu 2019 dan bisa mengusung capres-cawapresnya sendiri.
"Ganjar untuk disandingkan dengan cawapres siapa pun yang populer, tentu punya peluang bagus karena elektabilitas Ganjar tinggi. Masalahnya di dalam PDI-P belum ada putusan dari kedua nama tersebut yang akan resmi dicalonkan," ucap Aditya.