Fresh off the stonking victory by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) at the 2025 general election (GE), Lawrence Wong, prime minister, has, as expected, reshuffled his cabinet. But how significant are the changes? And what do they tell us about the manner in which Wong will govern? 

Our assessment is that Wong has shown himself to be a meticulous tinkerer, rather than a reformer, who’s rewarded electoral performance, while distributing power so as to foster teamwork between strong-headed individuals and ministries. He’s also cannily left himself latitude to test out new cabinet members before confirming them. 

Perhaps most intriguingly, we also see the emergence of Wong the electoral strategist. His picks suggest that he’s already plotting an eastern defence, to try and neuter the inevitable ambition of the Workers’ Party (WP) at the next GE. Finally, the main disappointment is the paucity of women and ethnic minorities at the top.

Let’s start with the tinkering. No surprise that Lee Hsien Loong and Gan Kim Yong have retained their respective positions as senior minister and deputy prime minister (and minister for trade and industry). They’ve in some way mentored Wong over the past decade—Lee through the party ranks and Gan most notably during the Covid-19 pandemic—and will continue as a supporting cast. The former will be in a sort of emeritus professorial role, à la Gandalf the Grey, dispensing “wisdoms” as (we hope) the last of the Lees in politics.

That Lee will be far from operational duties was reinforced by his absence from Wednesday’s cabinet announcement. Wong was flanked by Gan and three coordinating ministers, Chan Chun Sing, K Shanmugam and Ong Ye Kung. “So that's four senior leaders in my cabinet. They are part of the core team to assist me, to advise me, and also to provide guidance and mentorship to the new and younger ministers.” In his absence, Wong said, Gan will be acting prime minister, and in both their absences, he’ll appoint one of the three.

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