Even though National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is visiting Beijing, Vietnam’s leadership struggling continues to intensify.
According to observers, at the present time, in the race to the General Secretary’s possition for the next term, there are only two potential candidates: incumbent top legislator Vuong Dinh Hue and Minister of Public Security General To Lam.
Most recently, the state-controlled media reported that the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam has just issued a disciplinary decision, in the form of expulsion from the Party, for a number of party members who are leaders and former officials in the provinces Vinh Phuc, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, etc. due to “errors.”
According to observers, it is worth noting that the vast majority of the punished officials by General Lam are close to, or have a good relationship with the party chief.
This shows that disciplinary decisions are still controlled by the Party Leadership Board, under the command of General Secretary Trong. That is the reason why Minister Lam disregards the Party Charter and is ready to arrest senior officials managed by the Politburo and the Secretariat, according to the “behead first, then report” style.
Going back in time after the 12th National Congress in 2016, there is the rapid expansion of power of the police associated with the role and power of Minister Lam. At the beginning of the 12th term, Lam did not have a prominent role, and was not trusted by Trong. General Secretary Trong still has to insert himself into the personnel list of the Central Public Security Party Committee as a member.
However, after the “victory” of kidnapping Trinh Xuan Thanh from Berlin and bringing him to justice, Lam gradually gained trust in the party chief.
As a result, this belief not only gave the Minister of Public Security the rank of General, but more importantly, helped Lam become the most powerful Minister of Public Security.
Lam broke a tradition that has become a principle of the police sector, from its inception until now. That is, appointing provincial police directors is no longer local people. Previously, the directors of the provincial police departments were elected by the provincial Party Committees and approved by the ministry. But now, Lam directly appoints the directors of the police departments.
This is the reason why there are many speculations about the above-mentioned structural changes, and public opinion is accusing them of being deals to “using money to buy positions” bringing in a ton of money for Minister Lam. Meanwhile, there are many opinions saying that Lam is appointing police officers from Hung Yen to senior possitions from Deputy Ministers to police directors in the provinces.
Not only that, the Ministry of Public Security, from the time of the late Minister Tran Dai Quang until now, has been expanding its military power, not afraid of power disputes with the army. The Ministry of Public Security’s increased investment in armored vehicles and combat helicopters is not simply within the limits of oppressing the people, but also to compete with the Ministry of National Defense.
Most recently, the Ministry of Public Security has had the National Assembly pass the Law on Forces Participating in Maintaining Security and Order, increasing nearly 750,000 civil defense and part-time militia. This will be a significant force. The Ministry of Public Security’s payroll has now reached more than 1.5 million people, showing that the power of the police sector under Minister Lam has surpassed the army.
That is also the reason why, General Secretary Trong and the majority of Politburo members and high-ranking officials, have been extremely concerned about the expansion of power that Lam has established through this mechanism. Accordingly, by the end of the 13th term, leaders of 63 provinces and cities and ministries, from the central to local levels, will become hostages in Lam’s hands.
Among the candidates for the party chief for next term, Lam’s power is unmatched. The Central Committee’s Inspection Commission has power but no real power. Other commissions in the Party also only use the name of the Party leaders to conclude finished stories.
The Ministry of Public Security deposed former President Vo Van Thuong – a close figure of Trong, but the General Secretary had to stand helplessly and watch. This shows that the Party commissions as well as the Nghe Tinh faction, do not have enough personnel, do not have enough power, and do not have “indulgent” documents, like the Ministry of Public Security has. At this time, General Secretary Trong only has the power mechanism to bestow, but not enough power like Lam.
Although General Secretary Trong holds the upper hand, thanks to Vuong Dinh Hue’s trip to Beijing, if he is not careful, Trong will still suffer. These things show that replacing and even criminally handling General Secretary Trong, according to the calculations of Lam and former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s faction, is completely reasonable.
That is why, General Secretary Trong and his faction must at all costs stop Lam’s ambition to become his predecessor./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
