Nguyen Phu Trong has been General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since 13 years ago. Inheriting the “throne” from Nong Duc Manh, but when he took the party chief position, the power of the position was weaker than that of the Prime Minister.
During the first 5 years, Trong worried about consolidating the power of his position. It was not until the end of his first term that he completely surpassed then PM Nguyen Tan Dung.
After consolidating power, Trong set up a “furnace” to “clean up trash” also known as “firewood” to eliminate officials who did not belong to his power ecosystem. Since his second term, Trong has become truly stable in his position. The formula for him to create an unrivaled position in the Party is “Four pillars plus control of the Ministry of Public Security.”
Once he firmly grasped absolute power in his hands, he announced his own rules of the game. Despite the Party’s regulations on age limits, term limits, and strict health regulations, Trong tore down the barriers and granted himself a “special case” to fulfill his ambition for power.
On the surface, he appeared to be someone who acted for the purity of the state and the Party, but in reality, it was his way to clean up the seeds of opposition to him in the Party. Because if he don’t eliminate those who don’t like him in the Party, they will have negative opinions, will say bad things about him, will oppose the policies he wants to implement, etc. making him angry and unpopular with the people.
Since the beginning of his second term, in 2016, To Lam became Minister of Public Security, that was also the time when Trong’s power was strongest. To Lam is a man with a shifty nature, does not like to obey the law, is brutal and voracious (both literally and figuratively). For such a person, when given the green light and allowed to not comply with the law, that is the greatest reward for To Lam.
Vietnamese people have a saying, “If you play with a knife, one day you will cut your finger” to warn those who want to use nefarious tricks and tools of violence. One day, that very tool will hurt themselves. Since 2016, Trong has used To Lam as a tool, and now, it’s time for his tools to attack him.
To Lam is ambitious and reckless. Perhaps, in the past, he only saw To Lam’s recklessness, so he used To Lam as a tool to purge his opponents, forgetting about this man’s ambition. That’s why Trong fell into a passive state when To Lam himself turned on him.
However, to be fair, it is clear that Trong also treated To Lam unfairly. Because Vuong Dinh Hue is a person who always avoids dangerous places and heroic games of life and death, but is favored as Trong’s successor. As for To Lam, he was “in life and death” to build strength and power for him but is not his favorite. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before To Lam “rebells.”
Trong’s health is getting weaker day by day, it is possible that he cannot end his second term. Yet, he refuses to grant a “special case” for officials outside the Four Pillars. Most likely, this makes To Lam uneasy, because To Lam still wants to stay in the Politburo to compete for hegemony with other opponents.
To Lam’s attack is causing chaos in the Vietnam’s communist leadership. For many days, the Politburo has held a closed meeting but has not yet concluded. Not only did Vo Van Thuong fall, but it is possible that Truong Thi Mai also go, causing the old and weak Trong to have to fend for himself against the “fierce tiger” To Lam. If at this time, Trong “dies,” there will be many interesting movies to watch.
Xuan Hung – Thoibao.de
