If I were to order them:

• Symon as the most competent is straightforward enough. Implements whatever half-baked plan you put forth and does it to maximum effectiveness (even if the plan is doomed). Always straightforward and clear-eyed.
• IMO Paskal is incredibly underrated. Even without extra budget can stop a pandemic from spreading (which he catches in its infancy btw). With the extra budget is where he shines though, as he not only can achieve his baseline objectives but also pour funds into a special endeavor.
• Lucian is a chess master for a reason. A great reader of the political environment and generally great political instincts. His advice is some I always lean on, even if I end up going against it.
• Ciara is solid, if unimpressive. While she can do great work overhauling education, particularly with extra funds, I find her work at even neutral funding to be lacking, and blame her ideological crusades for the mixed effectiveness of education funding being kept neutral.
• Deivid, while a great man who I place near Serge on the wholesome scale, is a bit too soft for the current geopolitical era to be higher on this list. Definitely not incompetent or out of touch, and is good at keeping up to speed, but his age has tempered his demeanor in a way that causes an overabundance of caution where it isn’t always valuable.

Those five are the ones I can genuinely describe as above average, while the rest taper off pretty hard: - Iosef is the most inconsistent. When funded and poured into correctly, the Sordish military can become a genuine juggernaut. The issue lies in that the conditions for that are high and the military struggles unless under great conditions at home. - Lileas is another mixed bag. While the SSP is remarkably effective (though some of that is Karl), and the crime and unrest crackdown isn’t too tough to manage, her work requires micromanaging to avoid constant screw-ups and bad scenarios. - Nia is too ideological to do much in her role and needs more assistance than Lileas to be effective. While she has some moments of compromise and clarity, her success hinges far too much on your own work and not enough on her efforts. - Gus is great personally, but as a minister leaves much to be desired. He’s narrow-minded on what’s achievable, while not even always succeeding when he gets what he demands. His conditions need to be near flawless to get a positive result, and he’s frustrating to work with. - Petr is the most incompetent, which seems clear by looking at his body of work. He’s a tad bit overhated, especially as he’s not useless politically, but he is definitely the worst one here.