Prior to the Democratic Party's national
convention in September, many prominent figures are emerging on the public
scene, hoping to be elected as the presidential candidate from this
"mercy" party. Some of them are external figures, such as Mahmud M.D,
Gita Wiryawan, Dahlan Iskan, Irman Gusman Pramono Edhie Wibowo, and just
recently Jusuf Kalla, and also an internal figure, namely Marzuki Alie, are
waiting for the invitation to run as the Democratic Party's candidate in the
upcoming national election. It is interesting to look at the opportunity of
these floating elites to run as a presidential candidate from the ruling party
and its effects on the national political constellation.
In political science the term “floating elite”
is used to describe the existence of certain elites who do not have a party as
their basis for attaining power in office. Nevertheless, by maintaining their
positions based on power resources, such as financial, popularity, and
mobilization capability, these elites display the ability to uphold their
images as figures who are worthy to compete in the elections (Michels, 1911).
In the same vein, the internal party system allows these elites to mobilize
supports from the grassroots in order to achieve the majority in the elections.
This process occurs particularly when the party has a great need for these
kinds of figures amid the decline of its images, as is currently happening with
the Democratic Party.
By: HYRW
In political science the term “floating elite”
is used to describe the existence of certain elites who do not have a party as
their basis for attaining power in office. Nevertheless, by maintaining their
positions based on power resources, such as financial, popularity, and
mobilization capability, these elites display the ability to uphold their
images as figures who are worthy to compete in the elections (Michels, 1911).
In the same vein, the internal party system allows these elites to mobilize
supports from the grassroots in order to achieve the majority in the elections.
This process occurs particularly when the party has a great need for these
kinds of figures amid the decline of its images, as is currently happening with
the Democratic Party.
Shortly after many eminent Democrats’ figures,
such as Nazarudin, Angelina Sondakh, Andi Malarangeng, and even the former
party chief Anas Urbaningrum, were allegedly involved in the corruption
scandals, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), chief of the party's supreme
assembly, took the lead to clean up the pervasive corruption within the party.
As a typical newly established party, there is no strong plan for managing the
crisis period. The Democratic Party had to choose its new chief and selected
the incumbent president of the country, SBY. It also appointed an acting chief,
the incumbent Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Syarif
Hassan, to manage the party’s daily political activities. This fact illustrates
that there is no strong organizational pattern within the party that allows its
own cadres besides SBY and his inner circle to lead the party.
As a result, the corruption within the party
and the reliance on a single political leader are two main reasons why the
party has declined in drawing support from the public. This view is supported
by the latest survey conducted by Center for Security and International Studies
(CSIS) that shows the Democratic Party’s electability currently at the lowest
margin of public support at 7.1 percent, a dramatic loss from their 21 percent
support in 2009 when the public was willing to vote for the Democratic Party.
Based on these facts, one of the rescue plans that has been devised involves
establishing an open primary convention from which someone from either
the internal cadres or from external figures will go on to compete as
the Democrats presidential candidate in the 2014 election.
The outstanding figures trying to appeal to the
Democrats cadres and constituencies in order to acquire a "ticket"
for the presidential race highlight an important issue. Mahmud MD, the former
Constitutional Court Chief Justice is presumed to be the most prominent figure
who can help the ruling party lift its reputation in the society. With his
unblemished personal background and his record of integrity as a former
minister and a former constitutional judge, Mahmud is seen as the most
acceptable figure to raise the Democratic standing. With the split in his
former party, Nation Awakening Party (PKB), Mahmud’s only realistic opportunity
to enter the race is through the Democrats primary convention. However, winning
the primary is a large challenge not only for him but also for other external
figures because of the absence of cadres support for those not rooted in the
party.
Moreover, among the internal candidates,
Marzuki Alie is the most eminent figure for the Democrats, based on this career
in the party. He is one of the loyal cadres. However, his reputation as an
elite and his elite positions in the party since 2004, leaves him with no basic
grassroots constituency. This challenge for him is fortified by the split among
the cadres into two camps, those who are loyalists of former chief Anas
Urbaningrum and those who affiliate with the current chief SBY. In sum, the
current situations--corruption cases, a personalistic party, and a split among the
cadres--within the Democratic Party are real challenges for elevating its
position in the upcoming election.
Furthermore, amidst the patrimonial based
system among the parties in Indonesia, the revival of external figures outside
the party can be presumed as another and prospective channel for supporting a
more robust political landscape in Indonesia's consolidation period. After the
ouster of President Soeharto in 1998, the Indonesian political landscape
has been controlled by a dominant closed-party system in which only those who
have particular sources of power can lead, maintain, and, more importantly,
decide who can run in legislative and presidential elections. From 1999 until
2009, certain party members have maintained elite roles or have even created
new political parties to channel their intentions to acquire government office.
Only one party, namely Golkar, even held the conventions in 2004 and 2009, and
the candidates still stemmed from internal elites.
The emergence of the external figures reveals
the opportunity for outsiders to compete in the internal party conventions
leading to the presidential election. Their existence turns around the
Indonesia's old fashioned elite configuration. Even though these elites face a
lack of internal supports, particularly from the cadres, they nonetheless
exemplify another option for fortifying the quality of democracy in Indonesia,
allowing external elites to express their various visions and draw supports
from the grassroots.
Eventually, we will see a shift in the
Democratic Party's constituencies. This shift will be quite interesting as well
as important, remembering the majority of ballots that the party received in
the 2009 election. Amidst this uncertain political condition, the ballots from
certain constituencies from particular parties will affect legislative and
presidential elections next year.
By: HYRW
first published in http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/06/11/the-floating-elites-democratic-party.html
