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