Party Engine Begins To Run In East Java, Golkar Must Prepare Precise Strategy For KIB Presidential And Vice Presidential Candidates

Golkar Chairman, Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: Antara)

"Don't let Golkar miss the train. Later in the composition of 2 or 3 pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates, we should have candidates from Golkar cadres. That will be the shadow of Golkar as a big party," said Ari in Jakarta, Friday, February 24.

JAKARTA - The Golkar Party has run the party machine in East Java to socialize Chairman Airlangga Hartarto as a presidential candidate (Capres) in 2024. The socialization carried out in East Java has even reached the village level.

PARA Syndicate Executive Director Ari Nurcahyo, assessed that Golkar's swift move was justified considering the current political dynamics which have started to converge on the presidential candidate pair (capres) and vice presidential candidate (cawapres). Because of this, it is considered that Golkar must prepare a precise strategy for selecting the presidential and vice-presidential candidates that will be carried along with its coalition.

"Don't let Golkar miss the train. Later in the composition of 2 or 3 pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates, we should have candidates from Golkar cadres. That is the shadow of Golkar as a major party," said Ari in Jakarta, Friday, February 24.

In the latest political dynamics, PKS has declared Anies Baswedan as a presidential candidate who will later be carried along with NasDem and Democrats who are members of the Change Coalition.

Meanwhile, the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) formed by Golkar, PAN, and PPP is still discussing the name of the presidential candidate, even though each political party has proposed the name of its chairman.

Regarding KIB, Ari explained, this coalition prioritizes the political basis of ideas and ideas that are appropriate for immediately declaring a pair of presidential and vice presidential candidates. Given that the goal of KIB is to continue President Joko Widodo's legacy.

"If from the start this KIB continues Pak Jokowi's legacy, it is impossible for him to join the Coalition for Change. That makes a clear political demarcation," he said.

Because of that, according to him, as a big 3 party, Golkar will risk its political pride if it only becomes a spectator in the 2024 presidential-vice presidential market. On the other hand, the dynamics of candidacy are increasingly converging on the presidential-cawapres pair.

Ari also suggested that Golkar should immediately prepare a precise strategy for the presidential and vice presidential candidate exchanges. "Party cadres in presidential or cawapres positions will have an electoral effect on political parties. Don't let the presidential-cawapres exchange not have an electoral effect on parties," he said.

In Ari's opinion, Golkar must also create a tail effect in the 2024 presidential election to maximize the potential for the party bearing the banyan tree symbol to win. Because the 2024 Election is not only to pursue a legislative election victory, but also to benefit from the tail effect of the cadres' nominations.

"Even though the main consideration is the electability of the party in the legislative election, the presidential election must have an impact on the Pileg. Whatever the party, it must gain maximum victory in the 2024 election," he concluded.

Previously, the chairman of the East Java Golkar DPD, Sarmuji, said that the Golkar machine had already been running in East Java to win Airlangga Hartarto. Even socialization has reached the village.

Sarmuji emphasized that the Coordinating Minister for the Economy has advantages as a presidential candidate because he managed to deal with the impact of COVID-19 when appointed by Jokowi as Chair of KCP PEN.

"Pak Airlangga has an advantage over the figure currently circulating, namely his technocratic capacity is above average. This is shown from the success as Chair of KPC PEN which places Indonesia as a country that has managed to overcome the impact of Corona and recover faster than other countries," explained Sarmuji.