John Boudreau/Bloomberg News
Vietnam starts a once-in-five-years political transition as Communist Party delegates meet in Hanoi this week to pick a new slate of leaders. The challenges that lie ahead include reforming state-owned enterprises, implementing new trade pacts and dealing with tensions over maritime territory with China. The congress, which begins Wednesday with a closed-door planning session followed by an opening ceremony the following day, will also approve a five-year economic blueprint. Here’s what’s at stake in the leadership change:
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung lis running for party general secretary against Nguyen Phu Trong. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
The central committee will choose the next party general secretary — one of the most influential roles in the country — in secret near the end of the congress. Delegates vote on members of a new central committee, which in turn picks the general secretary and politburo members. Officials aligned with the new general secretary will be voted on by parliament in May or June for posts including prime minister and cabinet members.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who has pushed for trade pacts and reforms in the state sector, is in the running for party general secretary against incumbent Nguyen Phu Trong, who represents a more conservative block in the party and is seeking to extend his term.
The new leadership will benefit from an improving economy, with growth forecast to hold at 6.7 percent this year. Exports rose 8.1 percent in 2015 from a year earlier to $162.4 billion, with 71 percent coming from foreign companies.
Vietnam’s government is sensitive to internal criticism, though crackdowns on dissent appear smaller than previous transition periods. This month the government issued a warning about Internet postings tarnishing the images of leaders. In December, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius criticized the government for the “harassment and detentions of peaceful human rights advocates.”
The party congress ends Jan. 28.
To read more, click here:Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung looks likely to be out of a job when the Communist Party selects a new team to run the country. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
