The Democratic Party (PD) is prepared to face all possible outcomes in the 2014 general elections, including playing the role of official opposition if they fail to win.
“As a political party, you should prepare for all possible scenarios, including becoming the opposition. And if it comes to that, as Pak SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] always says, we will be ready,” said strategy and policy development head for the PD central executive board Ulil Abshar Abdalla in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Ulil, being in the opposition is child’s play; one only needs to criticize government policy, mostly without providing any concrete solutions.
Even as a legislative candidate running for a seat in the House of Representatives, Ulil acknowledged that the ruling party had more pressure to deal with. When they are not making any policy decisions, the ruling party must stand firm in the face of heavy criticism.
“But if you’re the opposition, you only need to play a watchdog role,” he said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.
While he would rather be in the ruling party, Ulil argued that the Dems would not simply join any coalition to win the election, and would gladly take its place in the opposition as a means to restoring the voters’ trust in the following election.
The PD has seen its popularity dwindling in recent years due to a string of corruption cases, and has pledged to continue economic reforms if voters support the party again.
