Markus J. Sihaloho, Carlos Paath, Anastasia W. Riesardhy, & Erwin Cristianson – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to take over the Democratic Party's leadership while chairman Anas Urbaningrum faces a graft probe has received a mixed reaction from political analysts.

Anas may be facing legal action in the Hambalang sports center graft case, but M. Qodari, a political analyst from Indo Barometer, said that the president's move could prove a fatal political blunder.

"If he is not careful, it could become a political blunder because SBY [Yudhoyono] can't concentrate on running the government. The government's performance could further flop and if this happens, it will further drag the party's popularity down," Qodari said in Jakarta on Sunday.

"We don't want to see the state sinking because [he] wanted to rescue the party."

Barkah Pattimahu, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Circle [LSI], saw the move as Yudhoyono's reaction to concern over Anas, who has been named a suspect linked to the Hambalang sports center project, which has cost the state an estimated Rp 243.6 billion ($25 million) in losses.

Barkah said he considered the move as evidence of Yudhoyono's much criticized political ambivalence. On the one hand, Barkah said, the president has asked his ministers to improve their performance and to abstain from political matters, but on the other, he has decided to engage himself in the party's political affairs.

Ray Rangkuti, an analyst from the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), said that the president was making a mistake by planning to focus on party issues. "As the president, the head of state and the head of the government, SBY has undermined himself because he's thinking more about the party, not the people," Ray said.

Ray said that Yudhoyono could have delegated the job to someone in the party, including several of his relatives who were already active in the party such as his son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, who is the party's secretary general, and party treasurer Sartono Hutomo,

Ray said that the president was entitled to worry about the problems engulfing the Democratic Party, but he that he should have assigned a trusted ally to handle the problems.

"SBY only had to issue a command for all cadres to solidly consolidate so there was no need to take over and make a speech as if the party's problem was the people's problem," he said.

However, Yudi Latif, an analyst from Padjajaran University, said he believed Yudhoyono was taking a safe path and by using himself, trying to create a positive image for his embattled party.

"That's why he created a cure to keep distance between the Democrats and Anas Urbaningrum, but at the same time, SBY didn't have the nerve to immediately dismiss Anas," Yudi said on Sunday.

Yudi added that if the KPK could not prove Anas's guilt, Yudhoyono could then claim Anas was only replaced temporarily. That explains why he did not dismiss Anas, as many had expected.

Yudhoyono's move to take on party leadership may set a precedent of cabinet members taking a more active role in their political party's internal issues, some analysts are saying.

Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said that while Yudhoyono's decision would benefit his party, it posed a serious threat to the effectiveness of his administration as a whole.

"Now that the president is busy taking care of the Democrats, it's feared that the ministers will also follow suit by taking care of their own. It's most likely that this will happen since all the political parties eligible for the 2014 general elections have to prepare," Bambang said.

"If that's the case, how can the cabinet focus 100 percent on running the government and handling the people's problems?"

Bambang speculated that the government's effectiveness in the coming months would be limited and likely disappointing for Yudhoyono, who is trying to cement his legacy before leaving office.

Speaking at a press conference at his home in Cikeas, Bogor, late on Friday, the president said that a meeting of the party's high council had agreed that Anas, while nominally remaining as chairman, should tend to the legal case that had been distracting him for months.