By Francesco Guarascio
HANOI, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam is seeking to combine his party role with the state presidency, officials said, in a move that would align Vietnam’s political structure more closely with that of China where President Xi Jinping leads the party and the state.
About 1,600 delegates will gather in Hanoi next week to kick off a week-long Communist Party congress, held every five years to choose new leaders and set policy goals for the one-party state.
Lam, 68, submitted a bid for the two top positions at a party meeting in December, seeking the party’s initial approval before the congress, three people briefed on the delegates and three other officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.
While the sources said the party meeting supported Lam to remain party leader, the three people briefed by the delegates gave different accounts on the issue of the presidency, a largely ceremonial role but one currently held by the military.
Two said that Lam won support for his bid, while the third said that the conclusion was not clear. In any case, the final decision belongs to the delegates who will be elected in the congress.
The party’s secretariat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The combination of the two top jobs for the next five years marks a significant departure from Vietnam’s traditional power-sharing model. Only in exceptional periods after the death of historical figures have the positions been combined, including in 2024 when Lam held both positions for about three months.
POWER SHARING TALKS
If Lam succeeds, the military, a powerful faction within the party, would cede the presidency in exchange for maintaining broad autonomy over the promotion of its senior officers, two sources said.
One official said military leaders are negotiating “safeguards” to limit Lam’s authority. The defense ministry was not immediately available for comment.
In possible signs of early concessions, some controversial economic policies pursued under Lam’s first term were revised or faced unexpected obstacles before congress, including on credit growth and high-speed rail.
Supporters of the combination of the two roles argue that all other communist countries – China, North Korea, Cuba and Laos – give both positions in one leader, noting that this move reinforces Lam’s economic reform agenda and strengthens his position in meetings with foreign leaders.
Skeptics see the change as a boost to a leader seen as a risk-taker who has already greatly expanded the powers of the security apparatus.
The merger would be “the natural outcome of the simplification of Vietnam’s political structure,” said Carl Thayer, a senior Vietnam expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy, noting that Lam has already effectively usurped some of the president’s powers with frequent overseas trips last year.
From January 19, the week-long congress will elect 200 members of the new central committee, with a large number of newcomers expected to join, raising questions about whether they will confirm decisions taken by the roughly 140 delegates who voted in December.
The central committee will elect the head of the party and the politburo. Lam said in July that the new politburo will have 17-19 members, but the size will depend on the delegates’ votes on a pre-arranged short list.
The politburo then nominates the president, the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament, whose appointments the legislators must confirm.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Michael Perry)