Vietnam has nominated the enforcer of the Communist Party’s anti-corruption drive as the next president and proposed a new head of the National Assembly, in appointments that could ease months of political turmoil and allow policymakers to refocus on a struggling economy.
Unprecedentedly for a one-party nation once known for its stable politics, two state presidents and a National Assembly speaker have stepped down in less than 18 months, all for unspecified “wrongdoing” amid a major anti-graft campaign which is unnerving foreign investors because of its chilling effect on bureaucracy.
After approval from the National Assembly, which could come this week, Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam would replace Vo Van Thuong, who stepped down in March after being accused of contravening party rules, just over a year after his appointment.
Photo: AFP
Lam would retain his police minister job even after taking office as state president, National Assembly General Secretary Bui Van Cuong told a news conference yesterday.
“The Politburo hasn’t nominated a new Minister of Public Security, and therefore the National Assembly will not vote to dismiss this post during its upcoming session,” Cuong said.
Widely considered one of the most powerful figures in the country, Lam was chosen by the party’s Central Committee earlier last week, but authorities and state media only revealed the nomination on Saturday.
The Central Committee also sought to elevate National Assembly Vice Chairman Tran Thanh Man to the legislature chairman’s post.
The nominations come amid a years-long anti-graft campaign pushed by Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that has ensnared scores of other government officials and business executives. A death sentence was last month handed to a real-estate tycoon in a US$12 billion fraud case.
The National Assembly would begin the process of voting on the nominations today, after the start of its summer session, Cuong said.
Lam, 66, would be the third president of the Southeast Asian nation in less than two years. His two immediate predecessors resigned after accepting responsibility for “violations” possibly detected by the ministry that Lam oversaw.
Lam has emerged as one of the most important officials apart from Trong, after his work to weed out corruption helped lift Vietnam’s ranking in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index to 83 last year from 113 in 2016.
While the presidency in Vietnam is largely ceremonial, it is also the second-most important position in the political hierarchy and a possible stepping stone to eventually succeed Trong when his term ends in early 2026.
The presidential role carries little power and could also indicate that Lam is losing influence in the government, said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
“He won’t have his hands on the levers of power,” Thayer said.
The scope and intensity of Lam’s public ministry investigations at the behest of Trong have unnerved many officials, he said.
As the public security minister since 2016, Lam’s law enforcement responsibilities have included leading the sweeping anti-graft effort that led to at least 459 party members being disciplined over corruption last year alone.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS