Prabowo Says Eight-Party Coalition Is Already Highly Efficient

President Prabowo Subianto defended Indonesia’s eight-party governing coalition, calling it “extraordinarily efficient” during a speech at the close of the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama congress in Jombang.

Prabowo said coalition government is unavoidable in a large democracy. He compared Indonesia’s territory with the European Union, which comprises 27 countries, and said a country approaching 300 million people cannot realistically be governed by one party.

He also linked a broad coalition to political stability, saying government programs need calm and continuity to operate effectively. As an example of instability, he cited Japan and Britain, where prime ministers have changed repeatedly over the past five to six years.

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We are now eight parties. It is already extraordinarily efficient. Many other countries may have a dozen parties or dozens of parties.

Prabowo returned to criticism that his administration has an oversized, inefficient cabinet. He compared its size with Timor-Leste’s cabinet, which he said has as many as 28 members despite the country’s much smaller territory and population.

Seven of the eight coalition parties hold seats in parliament. Prabowo said the coalition he leads is large, but argued that stability remains necessary for governing Indonesia.

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A country this large, the world’s fourth-largest, cannot possibly be led by just one party.