Vietnam president’s resignation reveals cracks

Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong’s resignation after just a year in office on charges of corruption – according to the Communist Party of Vietnam’s statement – just a year after he assumed office reveals the cracks in the party and structure.

There is evidently a very strong anti-corruption movement in the party – Vietnam is one of the surviving communist party-ruled states in the world, with China and Cuba being the other two – and Thuong’s exit is directly linked to it. The communist party statement said “violations by Vo Van Thuong have left a bad mark on the reputation of the Communist party.” So far, Thuong has not been charged with direct involvement in corruption deals. He is being held responsible for the corruption of the governor of central province Quang Ngai when Thuong was the party chief in the province. Thuong’s predecessor, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, was forced to resign too because of corruption charges.

It is speculated that Vietnam communist party strong man, general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who has been holding the party reins since 2011, is calling the shots. He is the force behind the anti-corruption drive. One of the interpretations of the inner party goings-on is that the party, which had been placing technocrats in powerful positions in the government and in the party is changing track, and it is now looking to individuals with greater commitment to security issues. It is also speculated that this could be only a pretext for inner party power struggles between rival groups. Trong’s term as the party’s general secretary is till 2026, and he is trying to solidify his position and legacy. Trong is 79. Trong has been running the “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign since 2013. Vietnam has become a key economic hub in the south-east Asian region. Businesses which wanted to move away from China after the pandemic have shifted to Vietnam. South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics shifted its smart phone manufacturing unit to Vietnam, from where half of the exports go out to other countries. Similarly, American tech giant Apple too has moved to Vietnam. But Vietnam has been playing an interesting diplomatic role, now christened as ‘bamboo diplomacy’, between China and the United States. Vietnam had played host to state visits from China’s President Xi Jinping and the United States’ President Joe Biden. It reveals that both China and the US are keen to develop relations with Vietnam, and they consider Hanoi a reliable partner in the region.

The expectation after Thuong’s resignation is that decision-making could slow down, and this could impact the business situation. The bureaucrats would be doubly hesitant to take decisions for fear of being hauled up on charges of corruption. But there is the certainty that there would no change in the fundamental policies, and that Vietnam would continue to be a business-friendly destination for foreign investors. Trong cracking the whip on the apparatchik is to be seen as the waking the party cadre from the slumber of routine, and also to move out party officials who feel that they have become powerful. A similar process can be seen in the Chinese Communist Party as well where President Xi has been pursuing an anti-corruption policy against the well-placed party officials. Perhaps it is one way of keeping the party cadre on their feet. In communist party-ruled states, where the party has monopoly over power, internal shuffle and even shock treatment would be considered necessary to keep complacency at bay. There is also the potential for factional feuds, and those heading the party would be forced to deal with it in various ways. Party purges become a way of dealing with factions, and corruption becomes a handy issue.