Rumoured reshuffle and renewed offer to share power with Megawati could buy off enemies
President Abdurrahman Wahid's aides were trying to put together a deal yesterday to fend off pressure for him to resign, as demonstrations continued across Java for his removal from office.
Signs of a possible compromise within the political elite included speculation about a cabinet reshuffle which would buy off opponents in Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's camp and that of parliamentary Speaker and Golkar party boss Akbar Tandjung. These two together control Parliament and Mr Wahid needs their backing to survive.
People close to the President have also started airing ideas about a 'new' power-sharing deal in which Ms Megawati is granted prime ministerial powers.
Academics have joined the fray, noting that it was Ms Megawati's father, founding president Sukarno, who first stretched the 1945 constitution to cover a similar arrangement, when he appointed Mohammad Hatta prime minister in 1948.
Whether such offers can overcome the widespread frustration with Mr Wahid's wilful leadership remains to be seen. He could face impeachment following his censure by Parliament on February 1 for acting improperly over two financial scandals, a decision which triggered days of often violent protests by his supporters across East Java, the Muslim cleric's political heartland. Tens of thousands of his supporters gathered again yesterday in East Java and attacked a Golkar party office in the town of Jember in what is becoming a ritual display.
In Jakarta, the Attorney- General's office said it might quiz the President as part of a probe expected to commence soon into the scandals using evidence handed over by a parliamentary committee which concluded its own investigation last month.
Last week's protests failed to accelerate impeachment moves against Mr Wahid. Under Indonesia's constitution, there is no way to speed up the process, and no matter how loathed he is in some circles, no one can afford to be seen to be contravening the constitution.