Indonesian political heavyweights finally clear the air

President Prabowo Subianto and de facto opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri have held talks that may lay groundwork for a major political deal.

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto speaks during an economic event in Jakarta this week..Picture: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

More than a year after winning Indonesia’s presidency, Prabowo Subianto has finally met with de facto opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri in a low-key Eid meet-up this week, potentially signalling a closer political alignment.

The two most powerful figures in Indonesian politics have been locked in a prolonged game of push and pull, with rumours of a meeting surfacing time and again until Monday night when the President quietly visited Mrs Megawati’s residence in Jakarta.

The meeting was confirmed a day later by Mr Prabowo’s right-hand man, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, who said the two had a private session for an hour and half, but he declined to reveal details.

“I don’t know the specifics of what was discussed, since most of it was one-on-one meeting, but I’m sure it centred around how to build Indonesia together,” he said.

“Given the current global situation, it’s only natural that two statespeople would reflect on their leadership experiences and share views, especially with Mrs Megawati having once led the country through crisis,” he said.

Mrs Megawati’s party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), currently holds the most seats in parliament, 110 in total, and is virtually the only major party outside Mr Prabowo’s expansive coalition.

Some analysts suggest the meeting may lay the groundwork for a major political deal, possibly even paving the way for PDI-P members to join Mr Prabowo’s cabinet.

But Aditya Perdana, executive director ALGORITMA Research and Consulting, argued that would be unlikely at the moment.

“Prabowo naturally wants full support for his administration. But in realpolitik, things are about bargaining and trade-offs. PDI-P may be open to joining, but they’ll have their conditions. The question is — can Prabowo meet those demands? That’s still unclear, and not something he can necessarily answer right now,” he told The Australian.

PDI-P leader and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, right, pictured with former president Joko Widodo (back row centre) in 2023 before their rift. Picture: AFP

He said it wouldn’t be easy for Mr Prabowo to bring PDI-P into his government, with the biggest expectation to sideline former president Joko Widodo’s influence as well as the legal case involving PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto, who is currently in detention for alleged corruption.

“Megawati is known to be quite emotional when it comes to political relationships. Remember her rift with SBY (former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) back in the day? It ran deep. And now with Jokowi, she feels abandoned. If you’re talking about PDI-P, you have to talk about Megawati, if she feels hurt, angry, or disappointed, it affects the whole party,” Mr Aditya said.

Mrs Megawati’s personal animosity towards Jokowi, as the former president is known, stems from his decision in 2023 to back Mr Prabowo as presidential candidate instead of the party’s own candidate. The president was fired from the party in December last year.

However, while the party has no representation in Mr Prabowo’s cabinet, Mrs Megawati’s former personal aide Budi Gunawan is in the cabinet as Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs.

He was one of the intermediaries between Mrs Megawati and Mr Prabowo and was present at Monday’s meeting. His office issued a statement saying “several strategic issues were discussed during the meeting, including the importance of maintaining national unity and cohesion amid global challenges.”