PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO TO NAME VP RUNNING MATE SOON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000764

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP
NSC FOR E. PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PDEM ID
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO TO NAME VP RUNNING MATE SOON

REF: JAKARTA 744 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesia is rife with speculation about
whom President Yudhoyono might choose as his vice
presidential running mate for the July presidential election.
The President--who is keeping his cards close to his
chest--has announced that he will make the pick by May 10.
Names that keep coming up include State Secretary Hatta
Rajasa, former minister Akbar Tandjung; and Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Tandjung told Pol/C on April 29 that
he had heard that he was on a "short list," but had no
further information. At this point, there appears almost no
chance that the President will give the nod to current VP
Jusuf Kalla. END SUMMARY.

RUNNING MATE COUNTDOWN


2. (C) Speculation is growing in Indonesia about whom
President Yudhoyono will choose as his running mate for the
July presidential election. For his part, President
Yudhoyono has made few comments about whom he plans to
choose. He has said that he has several criteria for the
pick, including "integrity, capability, loyalty, public
support" and the ability to strengthen his ruling coalition.
He recently added that he plans to make the decision by May

10. In an April 30 meeting with Pol/C, Astari Daenuwy, an
international affairs adviser at the Presidential Palace,
said Yudhoyono was busy "reviewing the options" ahead of
announcing his choice.


3. (U) (Note: The Election Commission will announce the
official results for the April 9 parliamentary elections on
May 9. Under Indonesia's complex rules, candidates must gain
requisite support based on these results in order to earn a
nomination for president. Potential tickets for president
and vice president must officially file their nominations
during the May 10-16 timeframe. End Note.)

THE "A" LIST


4. (C) The President, according to some reports, is
reviewing up to 19 names as potential picks. Several names
keep popping up, however. These include:

-- State Secretary and former National Mandate Party (PAN)
Chair Hatta Rajasa, 56, a competent minister who Yudhoyono
trusts.

-- Another contender is Coordinating Minister for Economic
Affairs and Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, 47, a technocrat
with no real party affiliation (or political experience) who
has earned respect for helping Indonesia weather the worst
aspects of the international financial crisis.

-- Former minister and Golkar Party dissident Akbar Tandjung,
63, who is leading a breakaway group in Golkar against VP
Jusuf Kalla's faction.

-- Hidayat Nur Wahid, 49, a leader of the Islamic-oriented
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

A CONTENDER WAITS FOR WORD


5. (C) One of the contenders, Akbar Tandjung, told Pol/C
during an April 29 meeting that he had heard that he was on
President Yudhoyono's "short list." He did not have further
information about who else might be on this list. Members of
the President's party, Partai Demokrat, had spoken to him
about the job, but the discussions were "just general in
nature." He had not been interviewed by the President or
anyone else at the Palace.


6. (C) Admitting that he was on tenterhooks, Tandjung said
he planned to sit tight and wait for any word from the
Palace. He said he thought he would be a good pick because
he shared Yudhoyono's "constructive, moderate and secular
views." Whether or not he was chosen to join the ticket,
Tandjung underlined that he would support Yudhoyono for the
presidency and not VP Kalla, the head of Tandjung's own
Golkar Party -- "I think Kalla is a good man but Yudhoyono is
the one who has shown that he can successfully lead this
country."

VP KALLA REPORTEDLY NOT ON THE LIST


JAKARTA 00000764 002 OF 002



7. (C) Yudhoyono reportedly has basically ruled out sharing
the ticket again with Jusuf Kalla, the current VP and Chair
of the Golkar Party. Astari Daenuwy of the Presidential
Palace told Pol/C that the President had made clear privately
that he did not want Kalla on the ticket and was looking
elsewhere. She noted that, in any case, Kalla had made clear
that he wanted to run for president himself. There was not
"bad blood" between the two, but they were headed toward an
"amicable divorce." The two would be able to govern
together until their term ended in October, she asserted.
HUME