Golkar Party Chairman Airlangga Hartarto gives a speech on June 4, 2023, during a national working meeting in the party's headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta.(Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto appeared to have consolidated his position despite a leadership challenge raised by some of his colleagues, ministers serving President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in his second and final term in office. But the direction of the country’s oldest party in the upcoming presidential race will still likely hinge on the preferences of Jokowi, a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of struggle (PDI-P) who still has some influence over voters given his high ratings in opinion polls.

Tension within Golkar has been brewing over the past month as it suffers a dip in popularity and internal bickering on which presidential candidate to nominate for the February election. This prompted Golkar politicians Luhut Pandjaitan and Bahlil Lahadalia, both of whom are members of Jokowi’s cabinet, to express their readiness to take over Airlangga’s post in an extraordinary congress.

The 60-year-old Airlangga appeared to have intensified his move to dodge the snap leadership contest meant to replace him. He now has the support of the party’s provincial chapters and three influential senior party members who won’t allow the extraordinary congress to occur before Airlangga’s tenure ends next year.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Yerica Lai (The Jakarta Post)

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