Jokowi (left) said the meeting was a reciprocal gesture after Prabowo (right) visited him in Surakarta in early November. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
JAKARTA: Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo’s recent dinner with President Prabowo Subianto indicates that the former president is trying to secure political protection after his former party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), closed the door for reconciliation with him.
From his hometown of Surakarta in Central Java, Jokowi flew to Jakarta on Friday (Dec 6) to visit rival-turned-ally Prabowo in his residence in Kertanegara, where the Gerindra Party chairman has often hosted talks with political party leaders.
Jokowi and Prabowo dined together that evening, as shown in a series of photos either posted on their social media accounts or released to the media by their PR teams.
Speaking to the media after the dinner, Prabowo, who assumed the reins of the government in October after Jokowi ended a decade in power, said he invited Jokowi for dinner upon learning that the latter was in Jakarta.
Jokowi said the meeting was a reciprocal gesture after Prabowo visited him in Surakarta in early November, adding: “Now that I’m in Jakarta, I wanted to visit him because I miss him”.
Analysts, however, believed Saturday’s meeting between Jokowi and Prabowo was more than just an ordinary dinner and reciprocal visit.
Jokowi strained his decade-long relationship with the PDI-P and its chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri ahead of the February presidential election after indicating his tacit support for Prabowo and running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s son, over PDI-P candidate Ganjar Pranowo.
Despite the perceived betrayal, the PDI-P has shunned away from expelling Jokowi and Gibran to avoid an open confrontation with the family, a strategy analysts say will put the PDI-P at a greater disadvantage.
But the rift between Jokowi and the PDI-P appears to have deepened following the Nov 27 regional head elections, during which PDI-P candidates suffered defeats in some crucial battlegrounds, including home turf Central Java, to candidates on the ticket of pro-Prabowo parties who were endorsed by Jokowi.
“Jokowi needs a strong political shield to protect his legacy and family members in case the PDI-P is coming after them,” analyst Nicky Fahrizal of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Nicky pointed to last week’s meeting between PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto, a vocal critic of Jokowi, and a former girlfriend of Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, Felicia Tissue, as well as her mother, who Hasto claimed gave him “valuable information”.
Hasto did not elaborate on his statement. “A lack of membership to any political party after leaving office has made Jokowi more vulnerable,” Nicky said, adding that the former president might now need the backing of more than a single political party to shield him from potential attacks from the PDI-P.
Tensions between Jokowi and the PDI-P appeared to have flared after Jokowi told reporters earlier last week that he still had his PDI-P membership card, reigniting questions about his and Gibran’s status in the party.
In response, several senior PDI-P members have slammed Jokowi for “being shameless”.
Secretary-general Hasto told a press conference last week that Jokowi and Gibran no longer have de facto affiliation with the party.
Later, Komarudin Watubun, who heads the party’s ethics council, said the party was planning to formally expel them.
The split between the PDI-P and Jokowi has fuelLed speculations about his next move in politics, including whether Jokowi would join another political party and whether Prabowo would support it.
Analyst Agung Baskoro of Trias Politika Strategis said Jokowi’s meeting with Prabowo might also have been intended to “seek Prabowo’s blessing about his plans going forward after parting ways with the PDI-P – whether it is joining an established political party, building a new one or remaining an independent player in politics”.
“Jokowi may have wanted to keep Prabowo in the loop about his future political plans to prevent the President from having any misunderstanding,” Agung said, noting that Jokowi’s decision will hinge on Prabowo’s support.
Several parties Prabowo’s coalition, including the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN), have expressed their openness to the idea of Jokowi becoming part of them.
Yet they also said that Jokowi had not discussed his political plan with them. Prabowo suggested on Friday that while he would warmly welcome Jokowi should the latter choose to join his Gerindra Party, Prabowo said: “We cannot force him to join”.
But analyst Ahmad Khoirul Umam said in a discussion hosted by Kompas TV that Jokowi’s comment on his PDI-P membership card might instead reflect his “genuine expression of hope” that he could reconcile with the party. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
