The "Floating Elites" in Democratic Party

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.

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