Symbolic Convergence of Presidential Candidates
Elite political communications ahead the 2019 Presidential Election are being more intensively carried out. The main elite of political parties are sharing messages and impressions on the stage of political publicity.
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Elite political communications ahead the 2019 Presidential Election are being more intensively carried out. The main elite of political parties are sharing messages and impressions on the stage of political publicity. Verbal and nonverbal communication is presented in various contexts that are deliberately constructed with multiple meanings.
This phenomenon must be positioned as part of the characteristics of political communications, by Robert E Denton and Gary C Woodward in their book, Political Communication in America (1990), as an intention of the communicators to influence the political environment.
The testing of reactions to prospective comrades and opponents, neural warfare, public persuasion through the management of issues on various channels accessible to citizens, as well as the mastery of public opinion, make the national political atmosphere hectic.
Fantasy theme
An interesting phenomenon to observe at present is that every political party carries out self positioning to collaborate. This is related to the changing constellation, when the legislative and presidential elections are held simultaneously. There is a strategic need for each party to obtain electoral incentives from strong figures and have clear electoral market prospects in the 2019 General Election. This is what is often called the "coat-tail effect", which presents the charm of the figures of presidential candidates or vice presidential candidates to gather votes in the electorate bases that have been persuaded by the appeal of the main figures being promoted.
The main strategy used by the parties is to build collective or group awareness internally, through symbolic convergence with the help of their main figures used as the fantasy theme. This strategy is expected to serve as internal glue as well as a base to market themselves to outside parties to open dialogue to form a possible agreement.
Academically, the term symbolic convergence can be traced to Ernest Bormann\'s symbolic convergence theory (SCT), which was developed at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s. Bormann himself set out from the thoughts of Robert Bales about the process of small group interaction in the context of social psychology.
Now, symbolic convergence is not only studied in group communication but has also evolved into political communication in public. In short, the term symbolic convergence can be refer to an article written by John F Cragan, Understanding Communication Theory: the Communicative Forces for Human Actions (1998), which explains symbolic convergence as the power of communication behind the creation of common consciousness or symbolic reality called rhetorical vision. This rhetorical vision provides a kind of drama in the form of perspective, ideology, or paradigm of thinking.
In the context of parties ahead of the 2019 Presidential Election, they strive to create a common awareness on the internal basis of their constituents, and their respective party structures, through the rhetorical vision of a joint agenda to win both the presidential and vice presidential figures that binds the sentiment of the consciousness of being us among them. The figures of potential candidates in 2019 are Jokowi as the incumbent and Prabowo Subianto as a challenger. The two parties strongly associated with them are PDI Perjuangan with Jokowi and Gerindra with Prabowo.
Outside the two parties, inevitably there must be another fantasy theme. The theme of fantasy is one of the important concepts in symbolic convergence. It can appear in the form of discourse, both in rational language and imaginative language that can build mutual awareness through the provision of meaning, emotion, and motives.
The fantasy theme, for example, comes through a number of party\'s main iconic figures. For example, Muhaimin Iskandar in the National Awakening Party (PKB), Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono in the Democratic Party, Romahurmuziy in the United Development Party (PPP), Zulkifli Hasan in the National Mandate Party (PAN), and others. They are pushed up to the surface, made to resonate in the vice presidential candidate bourse. Their goal of course besides publicity is also build a fantasy theme to be a common agenda and binder in the internal as well as looking for negotiation opportunities with a variety of power that starts to be consolidated in the stronghold of Jokowi and Prabowo.
Power consolidation
There are three considerations that make the power be consolidated in two axes of the pairs, with the others only bringing the figures of vice presidential candidates. First, the capital of electoral figures. Until now the figures with strong electability, popularity, and acceptability are Jokowi and Prabowo so that other figures become realistic to read this map, or are monitoring the chances of the opening of the third axis.
Second, the various parties which are busy to consolidate themselves with the incumbent. Five of the seven parties supporting the current government have declared to be the ranks to back up Jokowi, namely PDI Perjuangan, Golkar, Nasdem, PPP, and Hanura. Referring to the 2014 Legislative Election results, temporary cumulative support for Jokowi ranges from 51.9 percent of the House of Representatives seats or 52.21 percent of the votes. This has the potential to increase if PKB, PAN, or even Democrats decide to join.
Outside Jokowi\'s camp, two parties have consolidated their power to be challengers, namely Gerindra and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The coalition of the two parties is eligible to carry the candidate pairs because it reaches 20.1 percent seat of the House. Outside the two axes, the map is still a dynamic opportunity in line with the movement of direction or political pendulum of three parties that have not yet decided their choice, namely PKB, PAN, and Democrats.
If the political communication among them goes towards mutual understanding, and agree to dynamize the 2019 presidential candidate "stage", with a composition of 27 percent of the House seats or 26.82 percent of the votes, it still allows for the formation of the third axis. Even though, when viewed from the reality of the interests of each party, the chance for the formation of the third axis is very minimal.
Third, the trend of voters, meaning the factors that develop in society. Many names start to circulate, tested in the voter market. A variety of massive persuasion techniques is done by many people, to prepare names of their candidates to resonate in the public perception as well as get a "place" in the prospective voters.
The concept of political marketing through mass media, social media, or plunging directly to the base of voters is very intensively carried out. The "triple C concept" approach, namely community relations, community services, and community empowerment, is the choice of almost all leaders who want to become president or vice president.
About the companion of Jokowi, it is not easy to take the names of the lists submitted by the political parties. The political party on the average wants its main figure to be taken by Jokowi for the RI-2 seat. The vice presidential candidate of Jokowi may only be taken from among political parties if his figure can be accepted by all coalition partners. The problem is that nearly all political parties have strategic planning in 2024 which will be the momentum of the transition of post-Jokowi politician generation and other senior figures that exist today.
Gun-Gun Heryanto
In this context, the opportunities of Agus Harimurti, Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin), Romahurmuziy, and also Zulkifli Hasan to be taken by Jokowi as his vice presidential candidate become small due to the resistance that will emerge from PDI Perjuangan. If in deadlock, probably the best alternative will be from professional figures, or former non-politicians, technocrats, and other figures outside the main elite of the supporting political parties. The names such Mahfudz MD, Moeldoko, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and a number of other names could potentially enter the vice presidential candidate burse outside the politician figures. Meanwhile, the symbolic convergence in the Prabowo camp is primarily a theme of change through leadership shifts. Its theme of fantasy possibly is also constructed through the figure of vice presidential candidates who can be antithetical to Jokowi, such as young, smart, santri (student of an Islamic boarding school), intellectual, neat and exciting the voter market.
Gun Gun Heryanto, Executive Director, The Political Literacy Institute and Political Communications Lecturer of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta
