This paper examines decabinetisation reforms—policies aimed at reducing or restricting ministerial cabinets—as a paradoxical feature of contemporary executive governance. Despite the growing reliance on these structures for political coordination and policy support, governments occasionally seek to limit their size, scope or autonomy. Focusing on the 2012 reform introduced by the Passos Coelho government in Portugal, the paper analyses both the design and implementation phases to understand why such reforms emerge and how they unfold. The findings suggest that decabinetisation often operates as a symbolic response to political and societal pressures for restraint, rather than as a substantive attempt to alter institutional arrangements. Internal dynamics within government tend to dilute reform ambitions, preserving existing dependencies on advisory structures.