REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A political observer said the national congress of the ruling party PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) to be held in Bali later this week is an important moment to mend relations between the party general chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri and President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
"The PDI-P congress is expected to not only normalize relations between Jokowi and Megawati as were during the presidential election in 2014. The congress is expected to serve as part of consolidation between the party leaders and its cadres now serving as public officials including the president, ministers or heads of regional administration," Leo Agustino from the University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa (Untirta) Banten, said here on Tuesday.
Relations between Jokowi and Megawati, apparently with the party have soured lately over the president's decision not to install Comr.Gen. Budi Gunawan as new police chief.
The president cancelled candidacy of Budi Gunawan on strong public protest after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Budi a corruption suspect.
The party and the Parliament, which already approved Budi's candidacy had insisted that the president should install the three start police general as new police chief.
Budi is known to be close to Megawati as her former bodyguard when she was president.
Leo said a meeting between Jokowi and Megawati and other party leaders at the congress could be an important moment to knit synergy for the interest of the party.
The public will see whether Jokowi will come and appear at the congress as a president or as a party cadre , he said.
"If Jokowi came as a cadre of the party , the party's general policy would be the guidelines to be implemented by the president for the public interest. Jokowi is part of a big family of PDIP that are supposed hear the instruction of its leader and implement the instruction for the welfare of the people," he said.
Therefore, communications between Jokowi and Megawati would be an important moment awaited by the cadres and sympathizers of the party as well as the public in general, he said.
"Communications between Jokowi and Megawati would give 'color' to the political landscape of Indonesia ahead," he said.
He said there are three possibilities that could come out of the meeting between Megawati and Jokowi at the congress.
First, Jokowi would agree to follow the guidelines given by Megawati; the second, Jokowi would accept the guidelines with some modifications to suit the prevailing political dynamics he is facing, and the third he rejected the party directives risking wider rift in his relations with Megawati.
"I believe the majority of the PDI-P cadres hope that Jokowi would accept the party's guidelines. However, it all depends on political communications between Jokowi and Megawati," Leo said.
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