Two Empty Seats In The Cabinet, Menkopolkam And Menpora Are Still Political Rebuttals?

JAKARTA - Charta Politica researcher, Ardha Ranadireksa assessed that the position of Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security (Menkopolkam) and the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) which until now are still vacant due to attractive political interests.

The position must be able to accommodate the interests of coalition parties supporting the president. I see that these two things are quite clear, why the position of the coordinating minister and menpora is still vacant," he said, Sunday, September 14, 2025.

According to him, the former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Budi Gunawan, has been known to have a fairly close relationship with Megawati Soekarnoputri and is considered one of the bargaining positions of the PDIP as the government's balancer.

"The question is, will BG replace it later have to be able to represent PDIP or not? If so, what about the 'tax' of existing coalition parties? If not, will it then have an impact on the attitude of the PDIP opposition which has been considered by some circles to be too soft," he continued.

Not to mention, the new Menkopolkam figure must certainly be able to collaborate with the ministers who are still in the same scope as him. What also needs to be considered, each also has its own interests, such as Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as a person who is known to be close to Prabowo," said Ardha.

Meanwhile, replacing Dito Ariotedjo in the menpora chair will also raise questions, such as whether his successor is from the Golkar Party or not. Ardha said there were various considerations, whether it would be given to Golkar or taken over by Gerindra. If the second step is taken, it could affect Golkar's support for the government.

"The considerations above seem to be more dominant in underlying the placement of candidates for Menkopolkam and Menpora, compared to assessing based on the professional capabilities possessed by ministerial candidates. Because the nuances of division of power are more visible in the current cabinet," said Ardha.