Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned on January 17. He was removed from his post in the most sensational way. His resignation was approved by the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The early departure of the number two person in the Vietnamese hierarchy is an extraordinary event. Tokyo believes that this could lead to a weakening of the pro-Western forces in the country’s leadership and the strengthening of conservatives. They are looking towards Beijing. Elections today are like gambling. You can always test your luck with Avalon78.
Who Will Be In Charge?
Nguyen Xuan Phuc served as Prime Minister of Vietnam for five years until 2021. He was actively involved in multilateral economic cooperation projects. Japan and Australia are in the lead. Nguyen Xuan Phuc was considered a supporter of cooperation with the West, he built a system of personal ties with Western and Japanese leaders.
The removal of the president was linked to a series of corruption scandals allegedly related to his work as prime minister. These were frauds with subsidies for the export of Vietnamese citizens from abroad during the pandemic collusion in tenders for the purchase of PCR tests, etc. In these cases, two deputy prime ministers were fired on January 5. It seems, will go to trial. More than a hundred people were arrested, including those close to the deposed president.
Observers in Tokyo see deeper reasons for this than just the fight against corruption. In fact, we are talking about changing the previously established system of collective leadership in Vietnam. This is the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the president, the head of government, and the chairman of parliament.
In Vietnam, a more decentralized system of government has developed within the framework of the general system of domination of the Communist Party. The “Four Pillars” had their own areas of responsibility, which created a mechanism for collegiality and joint decision-making. In addition, until recently in China, in Vietnam there was a rule of “two five-year terms, a maximum of 10 years” for the highest nomenclature. It provided a mechanism for the change of power.
However, the current General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has taken the path of undermining this system. He has been in office since 2011. But at the Congress of the Communist Party in 2021, in violation of tradition, he managed to stay for a third five-year term. This is the first time this has happened since the fall of the pro-American South and the creation of a united Vietnam in 1976.
Nguyen Phu Trong concentrated power in his own hands, using anti-corruption methods. Moreover, it really took deep roots in Vietnam. Against the background of the introduction of state capitalism and market mechanisms, various forms of illegal enrichment of nomenklatura bosses who protected private business flourished. They became almost the norm. Compromise can be found on many.
Having deployed the fight against corruption, the Secretary General of the Central Committee noticeably strengthened his position, a symbol of which was the removal of the president. It seems that the old “four pillars” system no longer works. There were also hints of some adjustments in foreign policy relations. General Secretary of the Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong became the first foreign leader. Chinese President Xi Jinping met him in December 2022.
General Secretary of the Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong has a reputation as an orthodox communist. He is an expert in ideological work. In the West, they fear that he may take the path of even closer rapprochement with an ideologically close China. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner. China thinks that Vietnam is like a dog that doesn’t know when to bark.