Keeping the Furnace Burning

And the FLC trial ends

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After last week’s travel digression, it’s right back to high-level politics today. I appreciated the feedback on that newsletter and will absolutely do more like it in the future.

On to the news.

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Tô Lâm was named General Secretary on Saturday, completing his rapid accession to the most powerful position in the country after becoming president in May.

A statement from the 13th Party Central Committee said the 200-member body “had a democratic discussion and reached a very high consensus with 100% votes to elect” Lâm.

This was hardly surprising after Lâm took on the General Secretary responsibilities just before Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s death, but I wondered if the speed with which this happened was unusual.

“I don't think that was a surprise; the party wanted to stabilize the leadership as quickly as possible, similar to what happened the last time a General Secretary died in office,” Nguyen Khac Giang of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute told me.

That was in 1986, when General Secretary Lê Duẩn died on July 10 and Trường Chinh, one of the founding fathers of Đổi Mới, replaced him on July 14.

For now, Lâm will also retain his position as President, the first time someone has worn both hats since Trọng following the sudden death of President Trần Đại Quang in 2018.

The National Assembly is involved in electing a president and it’s not currently clear when that body may reconvene to discuss this matter.

One of the biggest topics of discussion I’ve seen following Lâm’s appointment is the fate of the ‘blazing furnace.’ There is no doubt here: Lâm said it would continue upon becoming president, and in a press conference after being named General Secretary he said:

“The fight against corruption and negativity will be bolstered with the motto of ‘relentless, restless, without exceptions, no matter who the person is; dealing with one case would make an example for an entire region and an entire field.’"

That last phrase is particularly intriguing and I’ll come back to it later.