NO matter who its chairman may be, the Golkar Party is increasingly losing its allure. Without fundamental changes, Aburizal Bakrie—who has just defeated Surya Paloh in the race for the party chairmanship in Riau—may be unable to stem the slow deterioration of the party image.

There are several reasons why the decline of Golkar is being predicted. The party, which faced no opposition during the New Order era, has seen its share of the votes