The Discourse On The Permanent Coalition Of Political Parties Is Considered A Threat To Democracy

The discourse of a permanent coalition of political parties initiated by the General Chair of the Golkar Party, Bahlil Lahadalia, is considered a threat to Indonesian democracy.

Political communication observer at Esa Unggul University, Jamiluddin Ritonga, said Bahlil's proposal to form a permanent coalition to realize political stability under President Prabowo Subianto's administration was actually nothing new.

"Such proposals have actually been proposed repeatedly by the political elite. It's just that the proposal has not been realized yet," said Jamiluddin in Jakarta, Monday, December 8.

According to him, the proposal has not been realized because it is not easy to form a permanent coalition. This is because a permanent coalition requires strong understanding between parties in coalition.

This, said Jamiluddin, is difficult to achieve because each party has a different ideology of interest and agenda.

"So, uniting parties in a permanent coalition is not easy. Even if it can be formed, it is usually fragile, especially because it is often hit by the agenda of each party that generally wants to be in power," he said.

In addition, continued Jamiluddin, a permanent coalition is also a threat to democracy in the country. The reason is, a permanent coalition can give birth to a monopoly of power.

Jamiluddin said the monopoly of power could occur when the permanent coalition was too dominant, so parties outside the coalition did not have the power to monitor and criticize the government.

"As a result, it can weaken checks and balances. Even though checks and balances are essential in democracy," explained Jamiluddin.

If checks and balances are weak, he added, it can reduce healthy political dynamics. Politics, according to Jamiluddin, can be stagnant and less responsive to changes in people's needs and aspirations.

'Even a permanent coalition has the opportunity to create political cartels. If this happens, only certain parties can regulate the government. Parties that do not enter the cartel will find it difficult to compete, and cause democracy to become unhealthy," he explained.

"So, through a permanent coalition, it is possible for the government to be more stable. Stability is needed to ensure that long-term policies can be implemented consistently and sustainably," continued Jamiluddin.

Even so, Jamiluddin assessed that stability is useless if the permanent coalition can make the quality of democracy difficult. Meanwhile, this nation has agreed that democracy is a fixed price.

"Therefore, any coalition that will be formed must be able to strengthen the quality of democracy," he said.

Jamiluddin also considered that the desire to create a permanent coalition needed to be reviewed. Because he said, a permanent coalition has the opportunity to threaten the quality of democracy.

"This is certainly not what the reformists of our beloved country want," he concluded.