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Analysts on Monday said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle was better off remaining in the opposition, rather than joining the ruling Democratic Party coalition.

Andrinof Chaniago, a political lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said the party, also known as the PDI-P, would be taking a huge gamble by establishing a coalition with the next government.

“It will only hurt their image,” he said. “The party would then have to pay for the damage to its image in the next election, in 2014, by losing a significant number of votes.”

After faring poorly in this year’s legislative and presidential elections, the PDI-P has yet to decide its next step. Party members have voiced a range of opinions, but all of them agree that the final decision would be in the hands of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the party’s head.

“We will wait for Megawati’s decision,” senior party member Arif Wibowo said on Monday.

“Members may have different opinions on this matter, but once a decision has been made, all members should agree with it.”

Arif said the party would reveal its position soon, regardless of whether or not it decides to support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s next administration.

“We’ll make a decision before the new House members are inaugurated [in October],” he said. “We’re now considering a range of factors.”

According to Arif, most PDI-P members want the party to remain an opposition voice.

“But again, the decision will come from Megawati,” he said.

Puan Maharani, Megawati’s daughter, on Monday said that the decision would be made at a party meeting in October. Like Arif, Puan said all suggestions would be considered, but Megawati would have the final say.

Yudi Latief, a political analyst at the Reform Institute, said the PDI-P needed to carefully consider its core values before it decided on the political role it would play over the next five year.

“If the PDI-P wants to struggle for its ideology, it should remain an opposition party,” he said on Monday.

“But the party could also make a pragmatic decision to support the next government as a means of taking power within the next five years.”

The PDI-P has failed to establish itself as a strong opposition voice over the past five years, Yudi said.

“It chose to be an opposition party, but it was only halfheartedly committed,” he said. “Because of this, many voters were unable to distinguish the PDI-P from other parties. A party can’t choose to be an opposition voice unless it demonstrates a strong commitment to do so.”

He said that the party probably lost support over the past five years because it lacked a strong voice.

“The PDI-P is known for its distinctive ideology,” he said. “It should hold on to that, but must function as a strong opposition voice to win over voters. It should also have a shadow ministry to criticize the government with sound arguments. That way, people will be able to differentiate it from the governing party.”