According to various pollsters and media outlets, the electability of the Democratic Party has declined.

This is because the public is increasingly losing faith in the party’s ability to eradicate corruption and bring about clean governance, with the emergence of several cases implicating former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin and public communication chief Andi Nurpati.

The party, founded by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is not even eight years old yet, but won a spectacular victory in the 2009 legislative elections — securing 20.8 percent of the ballot and 148 parliamentary seats — as well as the glorious achievement of winning the presidential election in one round. But this was apparently the peak of the golden era of the Democratic Party.

Loyalty and ideological ties of politicians to their political parties in the reform era are still fairly low. This is evident in the increasing trend of politicians changing party colors. Such a phenomenon is indeed nothing new in the 13-year journey of democratization in Indonesia. But the current trend is that politicians — particularly the regional heads — are moving to join the ruling Democratic Party (PD).

They are, among others Crescent Star Party (PBB) politician and governor of West Nusa Tenggara province, Zainul Majdi, former chair of Golkar Party’s South Sulawesi Chapter and Mayor of Makassar Ilham Arif Sirajuddin and National Mandate Party (PAN) politician and Vice Governor of West Java Dede Yusuf. The questions are what are their motives to move to the Democratic Party and what benefits the PD will get?

A group of councillors in the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) have finalized proposed changes to the five manuscripts of the 1945 Constitution. If the previous proposal only involved the strengthening of the functions and authority of the DPD, the latest proposal is more comprehensive.

Ada salah satu kesimpulan menarik dari serial diskusi The Indonesian Forum yang mengangkat tema “Kontroversi Calon Presiden Independen”di The Indonesian Institute (Rabu, 6 April). Menguatnya aspirasi agar dibuka peluang calon presiden independen (perseorangan) merupakan ekspresi atas kekecewaan publik terhadap mekanisme rekrutmen politik di partai-partai politik. Hal ini juga sejalan dengan temuan beberapa survei dan jajak pendapat tentang mayoritas publik yang menyatakan partai politik selama ini gagal memunculkan calon-calon pemimpin bangsa yang berkualitas dan berkarakter kuat seperti yang didambakan masyarakat.

Babak baru hubungan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dengan partai-partai mitra koalisi pada 2011 telah dimulai. Penandanya masih sama dengan babak-babak sebelumnya (2010): keretakan dalam koalisi.

Isu perombakan koalisi berembus kian kencang pascapenolakan penggunaan hak angket pajak oleh DPR. Kegaduhan koalisi memang menjadi problem langganan sepanjang hampir tujuh tahun masa pemerintahan Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Ties between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his coalition partners have been renewed since the second round of the 2009 presidential election. Nothing has changed in the patterns of this relationship, which is marked with political maneuvering of two-legged political parties and transactional politics between Yudhoyono and the coalition partners.

The fact is quite clear, at the end of the first year, the government was busied with the political drama revolving around the Bank Century scandal.

Wacana perombakan Kabinet Indone sia Bersatu dan kedekatan the ruling
party (Partai Demokrat) dengan partai oposisi (Partai Demokrasi
Indonesia Perjuangan/PDIP) mulai hangat lagi diperbincangkan. Meskipun
Megawati kerap menegaskan bahwa koalisi di antara kedua partai itu kecil
kemungkinan terwujud, peluang ini masih tetap terbuka. Jika dilihat dari
pernyataan beberapa petinggi PDIP, seperti Taufiq Kiemas, Puan Maharani,
Tjahjo Kumolo, dan Pramono Anung, misalnya, koalisi antara Partai
Demokrat dan PDIP bukan tidak mungkin akan terwujud.

Fenomena kian menyebarnya korupsi di daerah mengindikasikan ada yang keliru dalam sistem pemilihan kepala daerah (pilkada) selama ini. Pasalnya, selain sistem pemilihan langsung mensyaratkan modal besar yang harus dimiliki seorang calon kepala daerah, pilkada kerap disertai dengan praktek politik uang dan pemakelaran pencalonan kepala daerah. Politik uang dan pemakelaran inilah yang menyebabkan biaya pilkada semakin menggelembung dan ongkos demokrasi semakin tinggi.

Kedigdayaan Partai Golkar kian memudar. Kekuatan elektoral partai yang selalu berjaya di pemilu-pemilu era Orde Baru itu kini mulai terancam mengalami masa paceklik politik. Indikasi itu terlihat dari penurunan suara Golkar dari pemilu ke pemilu.