Reformer appointed new Vietnamese PM<\/p>\n
HANOI (Agencies): Vietnam's National Assembly appointed a
\npopular southern reformer as prime minister yesterday, completing
\nthe second leg of a long-awaited leadership reshuffle.<\/p>\n
Assembly sources said Phan Van Khai, who stood unopposed for
\nthe post, won a 98-percent approval rating from the newly elected
\nlegislature in a vote behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
Khai, 63, replaces Vo Van Kiet -- a man more than 10 years his
\nsenior -- in a position which puts him at the helm of continuing
\nefforts to adapt the nation from a Soviet-style command-led
\nsystem to a free-market economy.<\/p>\n
Considered a canny technocrat and a quiet champion of the
\n"renovation", Khai used his acceptance speech to pledge quicker
\nreform in the face of tougher and more complicated challenges.<\/p>\n
"During the reform process the achievements that we have
\nmade ... have created great potential and opportunities for us,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
"However, development does not just move downstream, there
\nwill surely be bigger difficulties and challenges that need to be
\novercome, the demands of life that need to be met are higher and
\nmore complicated," he said.<\/p>\n
He said that an administration had to be built which is close
\nto the people, clean, effective and capable.<\/p>\n
Khai was originally mooted for the prime minister's post
\nbefore the 1996 Communist Party congress, but a flurry of
\ndamaging gossip and rumors about the business activities of
\nfamily members held him back at that time.<\/p>\n
Diplomats say he has a good grasp of economic issues and so
\nwill be well-placed to steer Vietnam through the difficulties of
\nits first serious downturn since reforms were launched.<\/p>\n
But they also say he will have to demonstrate that he can
\nmatch the stamina and energy of his predecessor.<\/p>\n
Khai's election comes a day after Communist Party technocrat
\nTran Duc Luong, a Russian-trained geologist, was elected
\npresident.<\/p>\n
The appointment of the two men is the first reshuffle of the
\ncountry's leadership triumvirate in five years.<\/p>\n
The third position in the three-man ruling collective, that of
\nCommunist Party secretary-general, is not at stake in this week's
\nchanges.<\/p>\n
One of Khai's first tasks will be to nominate candidates for
\ndeputy prime ministerial and other cabinet posts.<\/p>\n
The assembly, Vietnam's parliament, is scheduled to vote on
\ntheir appointments before the end of the week.<\/p>\n
Carlyle Thayer, head of the political science department of
\nthe Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra said the new
\nline up reflects "fantastic changes at the state level ...
\nrepeating a pattern of Vietnam's groping to the economic systems
\nto fit society".<\/p>\n
The new government's two most immediate concerns will be
\nensuring domestic stability in the wake of violent rural protests
\nand assuring international donors and investors that economic
\nreforms are on track.<\/p>\n
But Thayer also notes that genuine structural changes,
\nespecially to the state sector, will not be forthcoming until the
\nruling Communist Party endorses such a plan and that will have to
\nawait a decision on the successor to 80-year-old party general
\nsecretary Do Muoi.<\/p>\n
President -- Page 5<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reformer-appointed-new-vietnamese-pm-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }