General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, as head of the Party’s Human Resources Subcommittee at the 12th and 13th National Congresses, once declared: “Do not let into the Central Committee those who lack virtue and talent.”
But the 13th tenure has only passed 3 years, and a series of high-ranking officials from the central agencies to the provinces have been disciplined, forced to quit their jobs, and even arrested. Of the 18 members of the Politburo, 4 members were disciplined.
Names in the Politburo who “fell out” like Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vo Van Thuong, Tran Tuan Anh, Pham Binh Minh, or Central Committee members who were out like Vu Duc Dam and Chu Ngoc Anh, Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, etc.
Officially, according to state media, former President State Nguyen Xuan Phuc voluntarily resigned, due to “political responsibility” as head of the Government in his role as Prime Minister, let his direct subordinates, Deputy Prime Ministers Pham Binh Minh, Vu Duc Dam, ministers… loose management and allowed serious violations to occur in the “rescue flight” case, and other cases.
Public sees that this is a good precedent, effective in alerting officials to their responsibilities. If they violate, they must proactively resign. However, regarding the responsibility of the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong seems to remain “as inert as a rock,” pretending that there is no problem, and refusing to acknowledge the responsibility of “the person no top.”
State President Vo Van Thuong, a close figure and direct subordinate of Mr. Trong, was dismissed from all positions in the Party and state by the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly.
Notably, Thuong violated the “corruption” defect long ago, when he was Secretary of the Quang Ngai provincial Party Committee for the 2011-2014 term. This proves that, in the personnel work of recent Party Congresses, General Secretary Trong has let unqualified people into the Central Committee and the Politburo.
Public believes that the Communist Party of Vietnam and its government have never had a situation where cadres run for office, power, and use material money to buy seats, as serious as when Trong is the party chief.
Therefore, as the leader and responsible for directing the Party’s guidelines and policies, General Secretary Trong must be the first and last person responsible for the decisions of the Party, especially in personnel work. Trong himself also considers this work to be of the utmost importance, “the key of the key.”
According to the Party Charter, it is indeed Trong who must be disciplined, dismissed, or replaced, or even investigated for his wrong decisions.
According to observers, this is one of the main reasons leading to the rare turmoil in Vietnamese politics. If only Trong were a person with “honesty” aware of and not greedy for power, he would proactively and voluntarily resign to show his responsibility as a leader. That would make him an example of moral character.
At the 8th Plenum (October 2023), Trong was accused by the Central Committee that he had made many mistakes in getting into the committee and the Politburo many officials who do not meet the prescribed standards.
Currently, Vietnam’s political scene is extremely chaotic, as Minister of Public Security To Lam is trying, hastily, at all costs, with the determination to “usurp the throne and seize the position” forcing General Secretary Trong to withdraw from politics and cede supreme leadership to To Lam.
According to observers, the reason for forcing General Secretary Trong to proactively and voluntarily leave his position is related to the so-called “political responsibility” as the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, following the example of State President Phuc in early 2023. The reason just mentioned by Minister of Public Security To Lam and his faction will certainly gain the support of public opinion, as well as within the Party’s senior leaders.
According to knowledgeable people, currently, all leaders at all levels and sectors are trembling, living in turmoil, and worried, because they do not know when it will be their turn to be arrested like these senior officials recently imprisoned. More than anyone else, the vast majority of these officials have a common wish, that is, hoping that the country will soon have a national funeral for Trong.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
