Wolves at door: Rivals ready Kalla’s dethroning

Chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie is being touted as the most likely replacement for Vice President Jusuf Kalla as Golkar chairman, as calls for a caucus to unseat Kalla gain momentum.

With unofficial quick counts handing Kalla a comprehensive defeat in Wednesday’s presidential election, party officials and political experts are pointing to Aburizal, once named the country’s wealthiest businessman, as the next leader of Indonesia’s own grand old party.

With his much-discussed wealth and likely support from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the potential obstacle posed by media tycoon Surya Paloh looks uncertain to hinder Aburizal.

“Golkar will hold its national meeting earlier than scheduled, probably by the end of this month or early August,” Ridwan Bae, head of Golkar’s Southeast Sulawesi branch, said Friday after a closed-door meeting with Kalla at the latter’s office in Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

Without the early national caucus, Golkar’s current executive board will be disbanded in a meeting in December.

“Aburizal has the biggest chance of becoming the next chairman following the meeting,” Ridwan said.

“He has the support of more than 500 regional branches, or almost all the party’s branches. He also has vast experience.

“Aburizal is very close to all party members and stakeholders. It is very likely he will become chairman, Agung Laksono will become secretary-general, and Akbar Tanjung will become chief patron,” he added.

Agung is the current House of Representatives speaker, while Akbar is a former Golkar chairman.

Along with Aburizal, the three have been dubbed the Triple-A, or Alpha Trio bloc — a group that opposed Kalla’s bid for the presidency and pushed for the party to join Yudhoyono’s coalition.

Pelita Harapan University political analyst Aleksius Jemadu agreed Aburizal was the strongest contender, due to his influence and wealth.

“Both Aburizal and Surya Paloh have big influence among party members,” he said.

“The difference is, Aburizal has more money, and Golkar members usually side with those with more money.”

However, Golkar legislator Dewi Asmara warned it was too early to conclude Aburizal was the strongest contender for chairman.

The likelihood of an early Golkar national caucus was strengthened Friday when Kalla hinted he might retire from politics in the aftermath of his loss.

“Take as many pictures of me as you like, because I’m not going to be here in three months’ time,” he told reporters as he walked from his office to a nearby mosque for Friday prayers.

Aburizal is calling for the national caucus to be held in August, while Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad is pushing for an earlier time.

“Pak Kalla promised that if he lost, we would bring forward the national meeting,” Fadel said.

Some observers, however, say it would be a blunder for Golkar to name Aburizal its next chairman.

“He’d be nothing but a liability for the party in 2014,” said analyst Fadjroel Rachman.(The Jakarta Post )