Studi ini mencoba melihat komunikasi politik
incumbent dalam konstelasi Pemilihan Presiden 2009, dengan studi kasus komunikasi politik JK. Penelitian ini menekankan pada bagaimana strategi komunikasi politik, faktor pendukung dan penghambat serta pemanfaatan media massa dalam pencitraan politik, menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui wawancara mendalam, studi kepustakaan dan dokumen.
Hasil penelitian menunjukan, dalam melakukan komunikasi politik, terdapat tiga karakter yang melekat kuat pada diri JK, yaitu: realistis dan pragmatis, tanggap dalam merespon perubahan konstelasi politik dan berkehendak kuat untuk menang. Adapun strategi komunikasi politik JK, yang kemudian memperkuat posisi tawarnya dalam panggung politik nasional adalah, meraih kursi kepemimpinan Golkar, membentuk jaringan saudagar nusantara dan menjadi aktor perdamaian.
Dalam melakukan komunikasi politik, JK didukung oleh beberapa faktor, diantaranya, posisinya sebagai Wakil Presiden, Ketua Umum Golkar, latar belakang saudagar dan representasi politik kawasan Indonesia Timur serta Islam moderat. Sementara yang menjadi faktor penghambat adalah, komunikasi JK yang
Low Context, polarisasi Jawa-Luar Jawa, Iemahnya soliditas Golkar, citra korup Golkar, dan banyaknya kader Golkar yang hengkang dan mendirikan partai baru. Untuk pemanfaatan media massa dalam pencitraan politik JK, dilakukan pada semua jenis media mulai dari media cetak, media TV, media radio, media on line dan media luar ruang, dengan target
image (citra yang diinginkan) adalah JK berprestasi, bekerja lebih cepat dan berani mengambil keputusan. Sejumlah saran yang dihasilkan penelitian ini adalah, (1).
Dalam melakukan komunikasi politik, JK harus mampu memahami budaya masyarakat yang menjadi komunikannya. Karena tanpa pemahaman budaya, bisa mengakibatkan
miss communication yang pada akhirnya membuat tingkat penerimaan komunikan terhadap JK sebagai komunikator, tidak sesuai dengan yang diharapkan. (2), Sebagai
incumbent Wakil Presiden yang bertarung memperebutkan kursi presiden dengan-salah satunya-
incumbent Presiden, JK tidak boleh gamang, bahkan harus berani mengambil distansi dari SBY, agar keberhasilan pemerintah tidak hanya dituai oleh SBY. Untuk itu, dibutuhkan pola politik pencitraan yang lebih tepat, agar keberhasilan pemerintah yang dipersepsikan oleh masyarakat, bukan hanya hasil kerja kerja SBY. (3), Konsolidasi ulang partai Golkar, penting dilakukan JK dalam rangka menyolidkan dukungan partai dan elit partai yang terbelah, utamanya elit Golkar dalam menyokong pencapresannya. (4), JK harus intesif melakukan kontak langsung dengan
vote getter yang ada di Jawa, untuk mendongkrak perolehan suaranya, karena tingginya prosentase pemilih yang ada di wilayah tersebut. Untuk implikasi teoritis, penelitian ini bisa dijadikan sebagai salah satu acuan konsep dalam menyusun/memperbaiki strategi komunikasi dan pencitraan politik JK menghadapi Pilpres 2009, atau bagi
incumbent wakil Presiden dimasa mendatang yang maju bersaing dengan
incumbent Presiden.
This study attempts to notice the incumbent political communication in the constelation of presidential election 2009, through case studies of Jusuf Kalla’s political communication. The study emphasizes political communication strategies, supporting factors and inhibiting factor as well as mass media used to create a political image with qualitative approaches. Data are obtained through in-depth interview, document and literature study. The study result indicates that to carry out his political communication, JK has three innate characters, i.e., realistic and pragmatic, responsive to any changes of political constellation or having a high sense of politics, and having a strong motivation to win the presidential election. Similarly, his political communication strategies which strengthen his political bargaining position on national politics include the fact that he is now a chairperson of Golkar party, that he established a network of national traders/businessmen and still involves in it, and once became a peace-keeping actor. In doing his political communication, JK is supported by significant aspects several of which are his current position as vice president, chairperson of Golkar party, his background as a businessman, a representation of political actions in East Indonesia and a moderate moslem. Meanwhile, the aspects that hold off his political communication are his Low Context communication, non-Java and Java dichotomy/polarization, a weak tie among Golkar party members, an image of Golkar party as a corrupt party, and many Golkar party members who leave it and subsequentlly establish a new political party. To create a good political image of JK, a number of political communication strategies are done through media, ranging from printed media to electronic media such as TV, radio, and on line websites. These all are done to achieve the main goal: an image of JK who has achivements, work faster and is couragous in making decisions. There are some recommendations resulted from the study. First, in doing political communication, JK should be able to understand the culture of people he is communicating with. Without this, there will be miss communication that in turn leads to different messages delivery from what is actually expected. Second, as the incumbent vice president that tights against other presidential candidates one of whom is the incumbent president - SBY -, JK should not be afraid and indecisive; instead, he should have courage to claim that the success of the running governance performance is achieved not only by SBY but also by him. Thus, a more appropriate image branding of JK is required to inform people that JK contributes much to the good performance of the running governance. Third, re-consolidation within Golkar party is a necessity in order to unify all members of the party, so that they all are in line with JK’s nomination for the presidential election from Golkar party. Fourth, JK should intensify his approach with voters in the areas outside of Java Island in an attempt to increase the number of vote on account of the high percentage of vote in these areas. For theoretical implication, this study may be used as a reference for mapping political communication strategies and creating an image of JK to face Presidential Election 2009. Moreover, this study may be useful for incumbent vice president to complete with the incumbent president in the next presidential election.
