Lam’s appointment comes after a major anti-corruption campaign that analysts say Lam has weaponized for his own benefit.
Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament has approved Public Security Minister Tho Lam as the new president after a massive anti-corruption campaign forced his predecessor to resign.
Following normal procedure in a one-party state, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recognizing 66-year-old Lam’s election after a secret vote left him the only candidate. The vote followed his nomination by the ruling Communist Party last week.
Thousands of people, including several government officials and business leaders, have been embroiled in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown known as the “Burning Furnace,” with Lam Zheng, vice-chairman of the Anti-Corruption Steering Committee, at the center of the investigation. plays a role.
Lam replaced Bo Van Tuong, who resigned in March over what the party called “violations and deficiencies,” after just one year in office. The following month, the speaker of the National Assembly also resigned, citing “violations and deficiencies.”
Analysts say Lam, who is also vice-chair of the anti-corruption steering committee, is weaponising the corruption investigation to bring down her political opponents.
In his first remarks after being confirmed as president, he told Congress that he would “resolutely and persistently continue our fight against corruption.”
“Stepping stool”
Though the state president has a largely ceremonial role, he is one of the country’s top four political positions, the so-called “four pillars” — the others being party leaders, prime ministers and parliament speakers.
Carl Sayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra and an expert on Vietnam, said the election should restore some temporary calm. Elderly leader Nguyen Phu Trong’s third five-year term ends in 2026, or sooner if he steps down before his term ends.
Regarding the party leadership position, Thayer said, “Lam may use his position as one of the ‘four pillars’ as a stepping stone to become general secretary.”
Florian Feyerabend, the German representative in Vietnam for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank, said: “His elevation to the presidency makes it clear that Tu Lam has bigger ambitions than retirement.” He pointed out that the title could be “. He secured his position as party leader on “Launchpad”.
Feyerabend said continued infighting was “the way of the regime” and was likely to continue until Nguyen Phu Trong’s successor was chosen.
Lam’s rise to power has not been without controversy, with parliament deciding not to keep her as public security minister, who is responsible for monitoring the dictatorship’s opposition and monitoring activists.
Rights activists say the government has stepped up its crackdown on civil society groups in recent years, with the Vietnam-based rights group 88 Project currently having 200 activists in prison.
Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National Military University, said Lam was no longer the commander of the Ministry of Public Security and “may be in a weaker position to defeat” Pham Min Chin, the prime minister and the only candidate for secretary-general in Washington.
Lam also drew ire in Vietnam in 2021. While Vietnam was under lockdown to prevent the coronavirus, celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bay, released a video of Lam eating a gold-covered steak at a London restaurant. I posted it. The video went viral until the Turkish chef deleted it.
Later, a noodle seller who posted a video imitating “Salt Bae,” a noodle soup sprinkled with herbs, was sentenced to five years in prison for “anti-national propaganda.”
