Vietnam’s top leader To Lam consolidates power, gets China-style mandate
By Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI, April 7 (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Vietnam have unanimously elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as the country’s head of state for the next five years, a parliamentary official said after a “vote” on Tuesday.
The widely anticipated move marks a break with Vietnam’s traditional system of collective leadership; It consolidates authority in a single figurehead, which analysts say could tip the one-party state towards greater authoritarianism and also enable faster decision-making, similar to its neighbor China.
Lam was elected by MPs in the National Assembly. Parliament approved the Communist Party’s candidacy, and officials said it was finalized at a meeting in late March.
The former head of public security now has dual powers to lead the country for the next five years after being elected to a second term as secretary-general in January.
Concentrating more power in To Lam’s hands ‘could pose risks such as increased authoritarianism’ for Vietnam’s political system, said Le Hong Hiep, a senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
But he said such consolidation “could allow Vietnam to formulate and implement policies more quickly and effectively” and support growth.
The combination of the two roles “will shift Vietnam’s domestic politics to a new normal in which many of the old assumptions about Vietnamese politics, including those about collective leadership, no longer apply,” said Alexander Vuving of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in the United States.
Lam held both posts for several months following the death of late party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2024.
Even after Lam relinquished the presidency in favor of army general Luong Cuong, she often pretended to retain the role, traveling extensively and representing the country at meetings with foreign leaders.
REFORMIST SUPPORTS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
In her first term as party chief, Lam, 68, introduced sweeping economic reforms designed to make Vietnam more competitive, drawing both praise and criticism.
Following her reappointment as party chief, Lam vowed to sustain double-digit growth through a new development model less reliant on low-cost manufacturing led by foreign multinationals, which has long been the backbone of Vietnam’s export-led growth.
Lam’s moves have occasionally irritated the administration and businesses, but she has shown pragmatic flexibility in implementing them.
He supported the expansion of private holdings, but before his reappointment he also issued a directive emphasizing the leading role of state-owned enterprises to reassure party traditionalists.
Foreign investors, a key component of Vietnam’s export-led economy, often praise the country’s political stability and see Lam as a pro-business leader. However, his backing of national champions and push for excessive growth have raised concerns among some about cronyism, risks of corruption, asset bubbles and waste.
Lam also acted pragmatically in foreign policy.
He continued Vietnam’s “Bamboo Diplomacy” and sought to balance relations with major powers while expanding international partnerships.
“Even if there are concerns that Vietnam is concentrating more power in a single person, Lam’s double hat will not signal any change in Vietnam’s foreign policy,” said Khang Vu, a visiting scholar at Boston College.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by David Stanway)
