‘External forces’ behind Indonesian minister’s shock resignation as Golkar Party chairman, threatening democracy: Analysts

JAKARTA: The shock resignation of Indonesian minister Airlangga Hartarto as chairman of Indonesia’s oldest political party looks set to benefit President Joko Widodo as well as president-elect Prabowo Subianto, but has dealt a blow to the country’s hard-won democracy, analysts say.

Mr Airlangga announced his resignation as Golkar chairman on Sunday (Aug 11), cutting short a term that would have lasted until December. He had been Golkar chairman since 2017, and remains Indonesia’s coordinating minister for economic affairs.

While Mr Airlangga, 61, said he was resigning “to maintain the integrity of the Golkar party, in order to ensure the stability of the government transition that will occur in the near future”, observers say he is widely believed to have bowed to pressure from “external forces”.

Golkar, Indonesia’s second-largest political party, was formed in 1971 and was the ruling party for almost three decades until former president Suharto was toppled in 1998, paving the way for political reforms in Indonesia.

Since then, it has managed to align itself with the parties in power in Indonesia. Its leadership typically changes when the government changes, noted Mr Aditya Perdana, a political lecturer with the University of Indonesia.

This time, however, “nobody thought it would be this quick”, said Mr Aditya, referring to Mr Airlangga resigning before Mr Prabowo takes over the presidency from Mr Widodo on Oct 20.

“So it could be that … two powerful people wanted it to happen soon.”

Asked who the two people were, Mr Aditya said: “Jokowi and Prabowo, of course. Because we are talking about the transition period, and the outgoing and incoming presidents have power.

“So they need a firm Golkar, a figure who can