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Having convinced itself that it could guide seasoned Golkar Party politicians with the lobbying prowess of its officers, the ruling Democratic Party is today left to consider where things went wrong and how to rebound from the failings that had led to Wednesday’s vote and the destruction of the coalition.

Political analysts said on Thursday that the Democrats had themselves to blame for not only overestimating the quality of their officers, but undermining the strengths and the reach of a giant like Golkar, the political vehicle of former President Suharto for 32 years.

“The loss of the Democratic Party simply confirms that their members are not equipped with the qualities required of politicians here,” political expert Indria Samego of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said on Thursday.

His statement comes a day after opposition parties were joined by three members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s coalition — Golkar, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) — in voting that the bailout of Bank Century in 2008 violated laws and recommended law enforcement agencies investigate indications of corruption and banking crimes as well as any officials responsible for the rescue.

Indria pointed out that the Democrats, through Wednesday’s vote, were unable to negotiate, much less lobby fellow politicians from other parties.

“They knew so little about the substance of the House investigations and the Century scandal,” Indria said.

Many of the Democratic Party officials refused to shoulder the blame of the party’s lobbying failures, instead blaming politicians from Golkar and PKS of “betraying” them.

Lawmaker Benny K. Harman said the stance taken by Golkar, PKS and PPP was similar to that taken by Judas Iscariot who, in Christian mythology, is best known for his role in betraying Jesus Christ into the hands of the Roman authorities.

“They are traitors,” Benny said.

Democrat deputy secretary general Syarif Hasan said that the vote did not reflect the Democrats’ lobbying failures.

“The failure is more towards how one determines the true meaning of friendship,” Syarif said, adding that Democrats might open opportunities to build ties with new partners who “can be loyal.”

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst at the Indonesian Survey Institute, said on Thursday that the Democrats’s political experience was unable to equal those of the Golkar Party or the PKS.

“Many of the elite within the Democratic Party are naive and have much to learn from Golkar about political maneuvering,” Burhanuddin said, referring to the fact that Wednesday’s vote against the government occurred despite warnings issued by the Democrats, such as when President Yudhoyono instructed police to hunt down tax evaders, only days after Golkar declared it would spare no effort to push for House investigations into the Bank Century scandal.

It is no secret that Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has harbored a difficult relationship with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati — who sanctioned the 2008 bailout — over tax disputes involving Bakrie companies. Warnings were also aimed at the PKS via a party lawmaker who found himself pinpointed by presidential aides for having allegedly received some of the bailout funds.

“They banked too much on the politics of pressure by publicly exposing their opponents’ dirty laundry. The Democratic Party’s politicians did not have it in them to strategize on how to guide strong coalition members,” Burhanuddin said.

Anas Urbaningrum, the Democratic Party faction chairman, admitted that the fact the PPP did an about face during Wednesday’s vote reflected a failure on the part of the Democrats’s lobbying efforts.

“But it would be more precise to instead call it a failure of the coalition parties to work together to build a mutual understanding and obey the commitments of the coalition,” Anas said. “The different [votes] taken by coalition members will be remembered.”