But Mr Wiranto's party is stuffed with former military men and lacks democratic credentials.
By the time the maneuvering stopped, General Wiranto found himself "suspended" from the cabinet.
Both are expected to cast Wiranto in a negative light and perhaps hold him personally responsible.
Many of those considered close to Wiranto, such as Widodo and Sudarto, emerged as closet Wahidists.
The connections between Wiranto and high-ranking officers underline how much patronage had become a military tradition.
This week Mr Habibie sent the commander of the armed forces, General Wiranto, to East Timor.
Golkar, Indonesia's former ruling party, selected General Wiranto as its presidential candidate for elections in July.
Both he and Wiranto spent their childhood years in Jogjakarta and were in the military academy together.
Mr Wahid had already said he would ask General Wiranto to resign if the report implicated him.
He has abolished extrastructural boards, such as the Wiranto-chaired Council for the Enforcement of Security and Law.
If and when General Wiranto goes, Mr Wahid will be able to tip the balance further his way.
His ticket did sneak in ahead of another with Wiranto, Prabowo's old foe.
Wiranto played a key role in Sudarto's promotion to strategic-intelligence chief, as well as his appointment as army commander.
The appointment of Admiral Widodo Adisujipto to General Wiranto's old job as commander of the armed forces is helpful.
Wiranto, now a senior minister for security and public affairs, to step down.
General Wiranto has said he wants to talk to Mr Wahid about it.
After Suharto resigned in mid-1998, Wiranto publicly promised to protect the former President and his family and regularly visited Suharto's home.
Wiranto, as with other outbreaks, has stopped short of declaring a civil emergency, which would allow the military to impose order.
However, Wiranto, another singing ex-general, was still in with a chance of edging Miss Megawati out of the run-off vote, with 22%.
In the past year, Wiranto has launched successive reforms to increase military professionalism, beginning with education and training (see story page 22).
Wiranto and his deputies have warned that the election session, scheduled for between Nov. 1 and 10, could be marred by riots.
Mr Susilo lacks the strong political machine of Miss Megawati's PDI-P and of Golkar, Suharto's former party, which has backed Mr Wiranto.
Despite the storm of international criticism, General Wiranto, the commander of the armed forces, seemed reluctant to rein in his rampaging troops.
Mr Habibie has already named General Wiranto as his choice for vice-president.
Late in Wiranto's term as armed-forces chief, Widodo became deputy military commander.
Wiranto, but the ruler publicly is trying to stay above the fray.
Mounting speculation that Wahid is about to fire Wiranto is probably unfounded, if only because the President may not need to do so.
That has allowed General Wiranto, Mr Suharto's former adjutant and now defence minister and commander-in-chief, to play a huge role in the negotiations.
For his part, General Wiranto opposed calls for an international peacekeeping force, saying his men alone would provide security during the consultation procedure.
Accused of fomenting violence, Prabowo was stripped by then army commander Wiranto of his rank in August 1998 and fled into exile in Jordan.
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