Megawati And Prabowo's Meeting Can Beat Jokowi's Trah

Photo illustration (Andry Winarko VOI)

JAKARTA President-elect Prabowo Subianto is said to be meeting with the Chairperson of the PDI-P, Megawati Soekarnoputri. The Gerindra Party and PDIP even said that the meeting of the two figures would take place before Prabowo's inauguration as president on October 20.

If Prabowo and Megawati finally meet, then what will happen to Joko Widodo after stepping down from the presidency? The question became a natural thing considering that Jokowi and Megawati's relationship was not fine after the 2024 presidential election.

According to the Executive Director of the National Political Studies (KPN), Adib Miftahul, the plan to meet Prabowo and Megawati was actually not surprising. Moreover, the two of them were in one line during the 2009 presidential election to the 2012 DKI Jakarta Pilkada.

Historically, Pak Prabowo and Bu Mega's relationship has been around for a long time. Moreover, our politics has a strong pragmatic nuance that tends to be transactional. So it's not too surprising if the two meet," he said, Monday, October 7, 2024.

In addition, during the 2024 presidential election campaign, Prabowo often stated that he would embrace his opponent if he won. At the Gerindra Rapimnas which was held recently, Prabowo also mentioned this again.

Therefore, Adib saw that the meeting between Prabowo and Megawati was an effort to embrace PDIP in the upcoming government. "Far before the February presidential election, during the campaign he said that he still embraced the losers, so this is something that doesn't suddenly happen. Prabowo's typicalness is so in the name of national political reconciliation that he lost was also embraced," he added.

Moreover, the position of PDIP as the winning political party for the legislative election made Prabowo of course see the importance of embracing PDIP to create a normal and stable political situation during the next five years of government.

Unpad political observer Kunto Adi Wibowo assessed that the meeting between Prabowo and Megawati could be based on the same interests related to Jokowi's position. Megawati may want to make sure Jokowi does not have excessive strength in Prabowo's future. On the other hand, as president for the next five years, Prabowo may be reluctant to be co-opted by Jokowi.

"Because of the same interests, that's roughly why this meeting can be realized and we'll see that it will lead to a large coalition and Pak Prabowo's government has no opposition," he added.

With such a situation, Kunto sees that it is very possible for PDIP to join the Prabowo-Gibran government. Moreover, Megawati and PDIP only had problems with Jokowi, not with Prabowo and Gerindra.

"The problem is because there (currently) is Pak Jokowi. But after October 20, we don't know Pak Jokowi's fate," said Kunto.

The Future Of Jokowi's Trah Politics

The meeting between Prabowo and Jokowi is also said to have an effect on the future of Trah Jokowi in the political arena of the country. As is known, Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the vice president elected to accompany Prabowo, his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep is currently the General Chair of PSI, and Jokowi's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution will compete in the 2024 North Sumatra Pilgub.

Jokowi's resignation from the presidency is considered to destabilize the political future of the former governor of DKI Jakarta. Moreover, Gibran and Kaesang are often also in the spotlight because of their attitudes and actions that are considered not to reflect good political ethics. Recently, for example, Gibran is suspected of being the figure behind the Fufufafa account which until now still causes controversy.

The long post of the account is known to insult Prabowo with inappropriate words such as divorce and stroke, and mentions Prabowo's son with homophobic comments. There has been no rebuttal accompanied by straightforward evidence regarding the Fufufafa account, plus the situation where Gibran now has to work with Prabowo, the relationship between the two will certainly be very interesting to pay attention to.

"How can Gibran be a good partner for Prabowo, when he had insulted openly in the past? Politics is full of dynamics, but digital traces are difficult to erase. The public is of course wondering how Prabowo will treat Gibran after they are officially sworn in later," said UGM sociologist Arie Sujito.

Meanwhile, Kaesang is also being hit in a hedonist living scandal when the economy of the nation is sick. Together with his wife, Erina Gudono, Kaesang is known to be on vacation to the United States using a luxury private jet. The plane is known to belong to Sea Group, the parent company Shopee, which has business relations with Kaesang and Gibran.

These things make the political future of Jokowi's two sons a big question after the father stepped down from his power. Can they survive without the direct support of Jokowi? Executive Director of Charta Politica, Yunarto Wijaya, believes that Gibran and Kaesang still have to prove their abilities without relying on Jokowi's influence.

"Gibran and Kaesang are still riding Jokowi's big name so far. Their biggest challenge is to prove that they can be independent. Their current steps in the political arena are greatly influenced by their status as president's sons. Therefore, we can only evaluate them objectively after Jokowi is truly no longer in power," he explained.

The Executive Director of the IPO, Dedi Kurnia Syah, also highlighted the work of Jokowi's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution. According to him, Bobby Nasution's political future also deserves to be questioned. The reason is, Kahiyang's husband is considered successful in winning the position of Mayor of Medan thanks to the big name of his father-in-law. Bobby has a similar challenge with Gibran and Kaesang. After Jokowi is no longer in power, Bobby must show that he deserves to be in this position, not just because he is the president's son-in-law," he added.

Dedi stated that after Jokowi stepped down from the presidency, Gibran, Kaesang, and Bobby would face a much tougher political world and without their main 'protectors'. Gibran must prove capable of working with Prabowo, even though their relationship in the past was colored with insults.

Kaesang, as the General Chair of PSI, is required to prove that he can lead the party without relying solely on the popularity of Jokowi's name. Likewise, Bobby must be able to embrace public support in facing the North Sumatra Pilgub.

'Indonesian politics is not an easy arena. Jokowi's path will be seriously tested after Jokowi no longer holds power. This is an important moment for them to show that they can stand on their own feet," said Dedi.

Director of PPI Parameters, Adi Prayitno predicts that Jokowi will lose his strength after stepping down as president. However, Jokowi may have the opportunity to maintain his political power through Gibran who will be appointed vice president. "Whatever the title, Gibran is the vice president who is elected even though at the same time the public knows that the vice president is only a "ban serep" position. But the opportunity to use his power through Gibran even though it is open," he said.

He emphasized that Jokowi could continue his political power through Gibran with only one condition, namely that the former Mayor of Surakarta must have or become part of a big party. "The record is that Gibran must have a big party backing or be part of a big party, without that, it is difficult to ignite his political power. The powerful is still the president," added Adi.