Internal Disorders And External Pressure In The Golkar Party

Photo Illustration By Andry Winarko (VOI)

JAKARTA - Airlangga Hartarto's resignation from the position of General Chair of the Golkar Party on Saturday, August 10, 2024, shocked the public. With no previous signs, suddenly the politician and technocrat who graduated from Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Gadjah Mada University announced his resignation from the position he had held since December 4, 2019.

This decision raises many question marks. Airlangga is considered successful in leading the Golkar Party since replacing Setya Novanto, who was caught in a legal case in 2019. Under his leadership, the number of Golkar seats in the DPR increased from 85 seats in 2019 to 102 seats in 2024. He is also considered successful in bringing Prabowo-Gibran as the winner of the 2024 presidential election with 58 percent of the votes.

In his speech, Airlangga said that his decision to resign was based on consideration of maintaining Golkar's integrity and ensuring the stability of the transition of government from President Jokowi to the elected president Prabowo Subianto. However, he did not explain in detail the purpose of maintaining party integrity and stability of the transition to the government.

Various speculations have emerged. Some believe that Airlangga's resignation was impossible without pressure or problems. Some people associate it with pressure from other parties, even accusations leading to President Joko Widodo. However, Jokowi has denied this accusation on several occasions.

"Regarding Pak Airlangga, it is an internal matter for the Golkar Party. In the party there is a process and mechanism, please ask the party," said President Jokowi when responding to reporters' questions regarding the issue of pressure on Airlangga.

Meanwhile, among Golkar's internal circles, the situation seemed calm. They immediately held a National Conference to elect a new general chairman, as if no big problem had occurred. However, the public remains confused.

The struggle for leadership in Golkar is actually not new. Previously, there was a leadership dualism between Agung Laksono's camp from the results of the Bali National Conference and the Aburizal Bakrie camp from the results of the Jakarta National Conference. This conflict subsided after they agreed to hold a joint National Conference which resulted in the election of Setya Novanto as General Chair of Golkar. However, Setya Novanto was forced to resign before his leadership period expired because he was caught in an E-KTP corruption case, so that Munas was again held and Airlangga Hartarto was elected general chairman.

The Mandate Of The 2019 National Conference Is A Problem

Finding out the cause of Airlangga's resignation may be done by tracing previous events. In June 2023, there was already pressure from the Golkar Expert Council consisting of old exponents such as Agung Laksono, Muhammad Ridwan Hisyam, and Lawrence Siburian, for Airlangga to resign. They were dissatisfied with Airlangga's leadership, especially because he did not immediately implement the 2019 National Conference recommendation which mandated Golkar to nominate a presidential candidate.

Until before the 2024 presidential election, Airlangga had not declared himself a presidential candidate, so there were concerns that Golkar would fall under his leadership. The Expert Council also held a meeting at Agung Laksono's house and issued three recommendations, including pressure to hold a Munaslub to replace Airlangga.

The three recommendations are: first, ordering the general chairman to form the fourth axis after three poros appeared; second, encouraging Airlangga to declare himself as a presidential candidate no later than August 2023; and third, proposing the "Airlangga Greeting the People" program to make the presidential and legislative elections a success.

Hisyam even stated that he was ready to become a warlord to win Airlangga in the presidential election in order to respect the mandate of the 2019 National Conference. However, Airlangga never expressed his willingness to run as a presidential candidate. The Munaslub movement did not receive full support from Golkar cadres. Some cadres argue that the 2019 National Conference mandate does not have to make Airlangga a presidential candidate, but other candidates who were promoted by Golkar. Munaslub's insistence also subsided, and several names from the Expert Council demanding Airlangga's resignation were examined by the Golkar Ethics Council.

Since then, the Expert Council has started to move, approaching Golkar figures who are close to RI 1. Golkar's history shows that this party is always strong if it has the support of the ruling president.

Ujang Komarudin emphasized that the requirement to become the General Chair of Golkar is to have a close relationship with RI 1 and be approved by the president in power. According to him, the general chairman of Golkar must have a position in the government because there is a "share" of the government in the party.

Hisyam mentioned three Golkar figures in Jokowi's cabinet who were considered equal to Airlangga: Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Bahlil Lahadalia, and Bambang Soesatyo. The Expert Council also sent Hisyam to approach them. Luhut stated that he could not because of his busy schedule, while Bahlil was willing to meet the conditions for support from the DPD level I. Bambang Soesatyo has not expressed his willingness, although there are indications that he will be willing to be nominated.

Although the attacks from the Munaslub movement seem to have subsided, Airlangga is still facing interference from internal parties and external parties, including from the Attorney General's Office. On July 18, Airlangga was examined for 12 hours as a witness in the alleged corruption case of the export license for crude palm oil or CPO, which involved the Ministry of Trade as well as Wilmar and Permata Hijau companies. Although the Attorney General's Office confirmed that this examination was not related to politics, this was a factor taken into account by Airlangga's political opponents.

Perturbations not only come from within the party, but also from external, such as the Attorney General's Office. Airlangga's examination by the Attorney General's Office regarding the alleged CPO corruption case has also become a trigger for his political opponents to accelerate the process of his resignation.