22-5-2024 (HANOI) In a move that has sparked speculation among analysts, Vietnam’s parliament elected police minister To Lam as the state president on Wednesday, a position perceived as a potential “stepping stone” for Lam to bid later for the position of chief of the ruling Communist Party, the country’s top job.
Lam’s election followed the appointment of Tran Thanh Man as the new chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly on Monday, potentially bringing a temporary end to two months of heightened political turbulence that saw the exit of three of Vietnam’s top five leaders over unspecified wrongdoings.
In keeping with the tightly-controlled procedures of the one-party state, lawmakers unanimously approved a resolution that endorsed Lam’s election after a secret ballot in which he was the sole candidate for the job. This followed his nomination by the Communist Party last week.
As the head of the public security ministry, Lam, 66, has been a crucial figure in a sweeping anti-graft campaign, known as “blazing furnace,” aimed at rooting out widespread corruption. However, critics have argued that the campaign has also been used as a tool to sideline opponents during political infighting.
This political turmoil has dented Vietnam’s appeal among foreign investors, many of whom have reduced their securities holdings in recent months, coinciding with the negative political news. It has also paralyzed the public administration, with billions of dollars in foreign aid and public funds remaining unspent.
After his election, Lam told lawmakers that he would “resolutely and persistently continue the fight against corruption.”
The state president holds a largely ceremonial role but is one of the country’s top four political positions, known as the ‘four pillars.’ The others are the party chief, the prime minister, and the parliament speaker.
According to Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor and Vietnam expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, political infighting is expected to temporarily abate after Lam’s election. However, the crucial battle remains to be fought as the ageing party chief Nguyen Phu Trong’s third five-year term ends in 2026 – or earlier if he steps down before his mandate expires.
“To Lam could use his position as one of the ‘four pillars’ as a stepping stone to become general secretary,” said Thayer, referring to the party chief job.
Florian Feyerabend, the representative in Vietnam for Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank, echoed similar sentiments, stating, “With the elevation to the office of president, it becomes clear that there are more ambitions for To Lam than retirement.” He noted that the position could be a “launch pad” for Lam to win the party chief job.
Until the crucial position of party chief is filled, Feyerabend expected continued infighting, which he defined as “the modus operandi of the system.”
In a move not originally scheduled, the parliament on Wednesday also voted to dismiss Lam from his post as police minister, according to state media.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned Deputy Minister of Public Security Tran Quoc To, 62, to temporarily head the ministry, online newspaper VietnamNet cited a government decision as saying.
Lam’s rise to prominence has not been without controversy. In 2021, celebrity chef Nusret Gokce, known as “Salt Bae,” uploaded a video of himself feeding Lam a gold-encrusted steak at his London restaurant while Vietnam was under COVID-19 lockdown. The video went viral before the Turkish chef removed it. A noodle vendor who later posted a video imitating “Salt Bae” was sentenced to five years in prison for “anti-state propaganda.”
Furthermore, Lam was the head of the public security ministry when, in 2017, Vietnam’s security services allegedly carried out an extraordinary rendition of a Vietnamese business executive from Germany through Slovakia, a case that rattled relations with both countries.
The U.S. State Department’s report on human rights in Vietnam in 2023 warned of significant violations by security forces and cited “credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses.”
