Analysis of the National Democratic Party's Refusal Joining the Prabowo-Gibran Coalition Government
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the political dynamics related to the refusal of the National Democratic Party to join the Prabowo-Gibran Government Coalition after the victory of the 2024 Presidential/Vice Presidential Election. The focus of analysis in the research is directed at explaining the political dynamics both internal to the party and external to the Nasdem party after receiving the invitation of president elect Prabowo Subianto to join the Red-White Cabinet. This research method uses a qualitative approach with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews with Nasdem cadres and elites, political observers, literature studies and documentation. Laver & Schofield's (1998) coalition politics theory and Frans Magnis Suseno's (1991) concept of Political Ethics were used to answer the research problems. The results of this study show that the refusal of the National Democratic Party to join the Prabowo-Gibran government coalition is because this party does not have a strong political bargaining power both from the aspect of coalition politics and political ethics. The political implications of this party's political decision have impacted on the absence of opposition politics in the party system and the formation of a grand coalition government as a political consequence of the contestation of the 2024 presidential / vice presidential election and the weak culture of opposition parties in Indonesia since the Reformation era.
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