Weak institutionalization and ideologies among political parties have led to political figures having a huge influence in determining the parties’ public image and electability.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Weak institutionalization and ideologies among political parties have led to political figures having a huge influence in determining the parties’ public image and electability. Consequently, the public may perceive political parties as nothing more than instruments for their elites or leaders to achieve personal political gains.
The political figures’ huge role in building their parties’ electability is reflected in the latest periodical survey the Kompas research and development (R&D) held from Mar. 20 to Apr. 1. The survey shows that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) retain the highest electability at respectively 33.3 percent and 10.9 percent. This is deemed inseparable from the figures of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for the PDI-P and party chair Prabowo Subianto for Gerindra.
The Kompas survey also shows that the PDI-P’s electability seems to follow Jokowi’s own electability, which is currently 55.9 percent. A similar connection can be made between Prabowo and Gerindra.
PDI-P executive Hendrawan Supratikno said on Tuesday (24/4/2018) in Jakarta that he believed Jokowi’s electability would continue to affect PDI-P’s electability through next year’s general election.
“Backing a presidential candidate that is accepted by a majority of the people is important for political parties. This way, the candidate’s programs can be synergized with the party’s and there will surely be a coattail effect,” he said, referring to the phenomenon in which a figure’s popularity boosts the popularity of the parties that back them.
Separately, Gerindra deputy chair Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said his party remained dependent on Prabowo. Internally, Prabowo is a glue among its members. Externally, as an internal party survey found, the people still have a strong, positive image of Prabowo.
“Gerindra is Prabowo and Prabowo is Gerindra. This is what the people want. We cannot blame the people for what they want,” said Dasco.
Gerindra needs Prabowo to run for president in the 2019 election to give the party an electoral boost in the legislative election.
Dasco said that a number of elite Gerindra members were currently being groomed to replace Prabowo in the future. However, their leadership quality was not yet well developed. “This does not mean that we are not building the capacity of our members. We do not limit our members, but it all comes back to natural selection. Someone will stand out. Someday, there will be someone to replace Prabowo. However, Prabowo is still the right man for now,” said Dasco.
The parties’ dependence on strong political figures has impeded any plans to create new political alliances outside of those supporting Prabowo and Jokowi in the 2019 election.
National Awakening Party (PKB) deputy secretary-general Daniel Johan said that a third coalition required not only the parties’ political support, but also political figures with leadership. “If we are talking about a third coalition, the question has always been who we want as candidates for president and vice president,” said Daniel.
Currently, he said, the PKB still supported party chair Muhaimin Iskandar in the presidential election. However, to boost the party’s chances, Muhaimin must be paired with political figures that possess strong character, such as Jokowi.
Daniel said that such thinking had led to the PKB wanting to pair Muhaimin with Jokowi, who was a strong presidential candidate.
Elitist
University of Indonesia political science lecturer Panji Anugrah said that the political figures’ strong influence on party electability was inseparable from the parties’ weak institutionalization and ideologies. “Political parties are not institutionalized properly,” he said.
Ideally, he said, voters chose political parties for their ideological platforms. In modern democracies, such as Germany and in Scandinavian countries, political parties have ideological platforms and coherent policy plans. Therefore, when the voters voted for a political party, they could already imagine the policies a government led by that party would champion. For instance, voters will know that voting for a social democratic party meant voting for higher taxes.
The domination of political figures over party ideologies implied that the parties’ electability might fluctuate easily, depending on their elites. This might lead to political decay within the parties, as its members would prioritize popular figures over those that understood the parties’ ideology and values.
The head of Airlangga University’s political science department, Kris Nugroho, said the parties’ dependence on strong figures was caused by their elitist management style. Parties tended not to have a strong program for building their members’ capacity, which had led to their becoming organizations that only housed public figures that were easily marketable to voters. Therefore, Kris said, parties needed a strong training program for their cadres.
“The key is for parties to organize down to the grassroots level in villages. Parties need members that stand on the front lines of bridging the party and its voters,” said Kris.