Vietnam\u2019s top leader To Lam wins state presidency, gets China-style\nmandate<\/p>\n
HANOI: Vietnam\u2019s lawmakers on Tuesday (Apr 7) unanimously elected\nCommunist Party Secretary General To Lam as the country\u2019s state\npresident for the next five years, making him the most powerful\nVietnamese leader in decades.<\/p>\n
The widely anticipated move marks a break from Vietnam\u2019s traditional\ncollective leadership system, consolidating authority in one figure in\nways analysts say could tilt the one-party state toward greater\nauthoritarianism, while also enabling faster decision-making, similar to\nits neighbour China.<\/p>\n
The parliament said on its website that all 495 deputies present at\nTuesday\u2019s National Assembly session endorsed the Communist Party\u2019s\nnomination, while five lawmakers were absent.<\/p>\n
Officials have said the nominations for top state leadership posts\nwere finalised in a meeting in late March.<\/p>\n
The former head of public security now has a double mandate to rule\nthe country for the next five years, after he secured a second term as\ngeneral secretary in January.<\/p>\n
Parliament is scheduled later on Tuesday to elect a new prime\nminister who will replace the outgoing Pham Minh Chinh.<\/p>\n
LAM PLEDGES NEW GROWTH MODEL<\/p>\n
After the vote, Lam told deputies in a televised address that it was\nan honour to hold both posts and pledged \u201ca new growth model with\nscience, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the\nprimary driving forces\u201d. He also said he would prioritise self-reliance\nin defence.<\/p>\n
He said his top priorities were to maintain stability, promote rapid\nand sustainable national development and improve \u201call aspects of\npeople\u2019s lives\u201d. Analysts said Lam\u2019s dual role could make it easier for\nhim to achieve his goals, while cautioning against the risks of\nexcessive power concentration.<\/p>\n
\u201cConcentrating greater power in To Lam\u2019s hands could pose risks to\nVietnam\u2019s political system, such as increased authoritarianism,\u201d said Le\nHong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
However, such consolidation \u201ccould enable Vietnam to formulate and\nimplement policies more quickly and effectively,\u201d supporting growth, he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The combination of the two roles \u201cwill shift Vietnam\u2019s domestic\npolitics to a new normal where most of the old assumptions about\nVietnam\u2019s politics, including those about collective leadership, are no\nlonger valid,\u201d said Alexander Vuving of the Asia-Pacific Center for\nSecurity Studies in the United States. Lam held both posts for a period\nof a few months following the death in 2024 of the late party General\nSecretary Nguyen Phu Trong.<\/p>\n
Even after relinquishing the state presidency in favour of army\ngeneral Luong Cuong, Lam often acted as if he had retained the role,\ntravelling extensively and representing the country in meetings with\nforeign leaders.<\/p>\n
REFORMIST, BACKS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS<\/p>\n
In his first stint as party chief, 68-year-old Lam launched sweeping\neconomic reforms designed to make Vietnam more competitive, which drew\nboth praise and criticism. Lam has vowed to pursue double-digit growth\nthrough a new development model that is less reliant on low-cost\nmanufacturing, long the backbone of Vietnam\u2019s export-driven boom and led\nby foreign multinationals.<\/p>\n
Lam\u2019s moves have at times unsettled the administration and\nbusinesses, but he has shown a pragmatic flexibility in executing\nthem.<\/p>\n
He has backed the expansion of private conglomerates, but before his\nreappointment, also issued a directive emphasising the leading role of\nstate-owned enterprises in a bid to reassure party traditionalists.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors, a key component of Vietnam\u2019s export-reliant\neconomy, have often praised the country\u2019s political stability and see\nLam as a pro-business leader. However, his backing of national champions\nand push for breakneck growth have raised concerns among some about\nfavouritism, corruption risks, asset bubbles and waste.<\/p>\n
In foreign policy, Lam has also been pragmatic.<\/p>\n
He has maintained Vietnam\u2019s \u201cBamboo Diplomacy\u201d and sought to balance\nrelations with major powers while expanding international\npartnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cLam\u2019s double-hat would not signal any changes in Vietnam\u2019s foreign\npolicy, even if there are concerns that Vietnam is concentrating more\npower in a single individual,\u201d said Khang Vu, a visiting scholar at\nBoston College.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vietnams-top-leader-to-lam-wins-state-presidency-gets-china-style-mandate-1775613250", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }