MEGAGORE

Last Friday I had read that ex-Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri had endorsed the now-former head of ex-dictator Suharto's party Golkar in his attempt to be re-elected as head of the party.

I thought, at that time, "“this is like Al Gore endorsing Howard Dean." A big loser from the last presidential campaign has just endorsed another obvious loser, thereby pushing herself further into political oblivion.”

I wish I had blogged that thought. It would have been nice to have one of my rare correct predictions recorded for posterity.

However, things have still gone far beyond my initial expectations. Not only has Akbar lost, but Golkar is now led by Jusuf Kalla, the current Indonesian vice president and ally of the president.
The FT reports:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won control of Indonesia's parliament on Sunday when Jusuf Kalla, his vice-president, was elected head of the biggest party in the legislature.
The appointment of Mr Kalla as chairman of Golkar, party of former strongman Suharto, clears the way for Mr Yudhoyono's two-month-old administration to push through what is seen as a pro-business reform agenda. The 323-156 win at a party conference in Bali will also give Mr Kalla more influence within the government. A wealthy businessman with a populist streak, Mr Kalla is a fan of Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai prime minister, and his brand of aggressive economic stimulus.
With Mr Kalla's election, Mr Yudhoyono's government will have the support of a clear majority of the 550-seat parliament. The victory also will lead to the dissolution of what had threatened to be a robust opposition coalition.

And Singapore's Channel News Asia agrees:

JAKARTA : Indonesia's government is no longer expected to face a strong opposition in parliament with the unexpected rise of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the new chairman of major opposition party Golkar.
And the other top opposition party - former President Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDIP - has also told Channel NewsAsia it plans to work with the government to cater to the people's economic welfare.
Our correspondent has the reactions to the unexpected defeat of staunch opposition politician Akbar Tanjung.
Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri who heads the PDIP and former Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung had earlier formed a formidable opposition bloc in Parliament called the National Coalition.
The two biggest political parties control close to half of the seats in Parliament and they had threatened to ride roughshod over the new Yudhoyono government.
But with the ouster of Akbar Tandjung from Golkar, some analysts predict the demise of the opposition.

If I were sober enough to be analyst (instead of a hack) I would be making the same prediction.
Mega and Akbar have successfully lead their respective parties, the PDIP and Golkar, into the scrapheap. The parties may continue, and eventually become non-ideological banner carriers for future opposition leaders, but that won't happen for a while.

And the ex-leader's own careers are a lot worse off. Though the parties they once led may soon be rebuilt as part of something larger, Akbar and Mega will continue shrinking in influence.

The recent alliances between Mega and Akbar firstly helped Indonesia's newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) achieve victory in the presidential election. Mega, the loser in the two-person presidential election, lost support at that time by seeking the endorsements of Islamists and crooks.

Now, Mega has again shot herself in the foot by endorsing a man who was unable to secure his party's candidate a position in the recent presidential election. Akbar, even more stupidly, accepted the endorsement of a former opponent who's star has been shrinking ever since she lost the election (and who's popularity, moreover, had been dissolving since it was revealed that she stole from the public purse while refusing to congratulate her opponent).

Though Indonesia's democracy is still pretty fresh, it does not have much room to allow political comebacks. Gus Dur, BJ Habibi and Suharto will not be returning to politics soon. Mega may be able to join them all at an ex-presidents' club, but Akbar won't even be able to do that.

Big congrats to SBY are in order.*

(Though it is still worrying that his veep is a fan of Thailand's Thaksin.)