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OK, now that we know who’s Brutus and who’s Judas in this government’s shaky coalition perhaps it’s about time the president realizes that it’s better to deal with the devil you know than the friends who are likely to stab you in the back when the going gets tough. At the end of the day, a marriage that is not built on love will eventually falter on the rocks of bad feelings and divided interests. Prolonging the unhappy union is both unproductive and painful for everyone.

My two cents in this whole Bank Century-House investigation issue is this: Considering the fact that we voted for a president to run the country, as opposed to a bunch of bickering politicians, then this just might be the right time to review the objectives of having a coalition to begin with, and even better still, to get rid of party-based ministers and replace them with competent individuals who are more likely to put the country’s interests ahead of those of themselves or their parties.

The government might face a tough time pushing policies through the legislature, but hey, how much harder could it be than it already is?

As long as the government has the country’s interests at heart, I think the majority of people are by now smart enough to distinguish between policies created for the good of the country and those based on cynical politicking and intended only to further narrow interests.

If anything, such a move could actually improve the quality of government policies and, in the long run, serve the country better than short-term popular measures concocted purely for political purposes.

When push comes to shove, the president should know that at the end of the day the mandate to steer this country for the next four years lies with him, especially in view of the recent less than honorable display of low-level politicking by those oh-so-honorable members of our national legislature.

Yes, we know that one of the roles of lawmakers is to talk (or even heckle), but enough of this warm-up exercise in democracy. Let’s begin to assertively put our taxpayers’ money to work where it’s really needed, which is in the task of building our country up to the point where it is on a par with other global players.

Indonesia is, after all, a member of the G20 group of leading nations, so we would do well to put away our childish things and become the mature player others expect us to be as one of the world’s largest democracies.

So, let’s get out of the sand pit and start being serious shall we?

It’s not as if all is doom and gloom on the home front. As a matter of fact, we’ve got quite a few good things going our way, if only we would capitalize on them more.

Our economy, for instance, despite all the political hassles, is doing quite well, especially as the rest of the world is still reeling from the impact of the global financial crisis, so getting international attention shouldn’t be too much of a sweat.

For a start, allowing Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani to finish her job without being continually knocked about for no good reason would help to show the world that we are a force to be reckoned with, especially since she’s such a good PR person when it comes to promoting the country’s image as a worthy place for foreign investment.

Goodness knows, there are precious few cabinet ministers who have any degree of real substance or the ability to inspire a feeling of confidence and professionalism, either at home or abroad.

Actually it’s not all that difficult to put Indonesia on the map in a positive light. Exciting international events such as the current Java Jazz Festival are already highlighting Jakarta as a good place for world-class artists.

And having singer John Legend announce on Twitter to his million or so followers that he’s excited about coming to perform at Java Jazz and looking forward to visiting Indonesia, can really help to elevate Indonesia to the category of “cool” in the eyes of the world community, as opposed to bringing up images of tsunamis, terrorism and other troubles, including barking legislators.

On top of that, there is also that Twitter entry from singer-heartthrob Ricky Martin, who out of the blue Tweeted in Bahasa the words “banyak cinta teman-temanku di Indonesia,” which should be heartening for a country that is uncontrollably rambunctious at home but such a timid player abroad.

Hey, people, if John Legend and Ricky Martin love us, then we, too, should be proud of ourselves.

Desi Anwar is a senior anchor and writer. She can be contacted at www.desianwar.com and www.dailyavocado.net.