When Wahid made derogatory remarks or cracked jokes about her, she kept silent. When senior members of her party savagely attacked Wahid in public, she remained a master of rebuke by proxy. Even though their relationship was so strained that Megawati would not take a telephone call from the President, she went through the charade of being the faithful deputy. It's a long time since I have eaten pecel . But the depth of the enmity between two leaders finally burst into the open amid uproar during a brief Cabinet meeting last Friday at the presidential palace.
History is likely to see it as a defining moment.
Wahid repeated an earlier offer to transfer all his constitutional duties to Megawati, who was sitting next to him. He threatened that if he did not receive an answer by midnight that night he would declare a state of emergency, dissolve parliament and call snap elections. Megawati said she could not give an answer because she would first have to consult her party. Witnesses say Megawati's face went red with fury. She said the fate of the nation was not only a matter for her, but the nation.