Part 2 of 2: The revolution of Indonesian democracy.

(From The Jakarta Post)

Susilo's problems, however, will really begin with the House of Representatives, which already presents an opposition majority, despite his own strong mandate as leader. It is an appropriate function of a legislature to critically scrutinise legislative proposals and to counter the capacity for a president to assume too much authority. This check and balance is a further key component of any democratic process.

The concern is that the House will choose to become obstructionist; that it will block Yudhoyono's legislative agenda not because it is poorly conceived or authoritarian, but because it can.

One hopes in this that the House will be able to display some political maturity, and recognize that democracy revolves around the art of negotiation and compromise, rather than the "realism" of machiavellian power politics.

Should the House choose to be unreasonably …