Since the successful elimination of Vo Van Thuong, Vuong Dinh Hue, and Truong Thi Mai, and then the death of Nguyen Phu Trong, To Lam’s power has grown fasst. At that time, it seemed that no force could stop him from taking full control of Vietnam’s leadership.
It was thought that when he became General Secretary and State President, concurrently Secretary of the Central Military Commission, and had his juniors holding the Ministry of Public Security, there would be no force that could oppose his Hung Yen force. However, the recent Central Committee’s 10th Plenum showed that Lam’s power began to encounter resistance.
At the 10th Plenum, there was no promotion for the Hung Yen faction. It is worth mentioning that General Phan Van Giang skipped the plenum and called a separate meeting at the General Staff Department, under the Defense Ministry. General Hoang Xuan Chien – who is considered close to Lam – also did not attend the plenum because he was visiting North Korea.
In addition, the military faction is about to take over the position of State President – a position they took away from Lam.
More notably, the reform proposals that Lam proposed at the plenum were not passed. The Party Central Committee still operates as before. This shows that his rule of “the law is To, To is the law” has been hindered at this plenum.
To build superior strength, first of all, one must apply one’s own rules to the common law, must amend the law according to one’s own will, at that time, the advantages of the faction will be brought into play. In this aspect, Lam is stumbling upon a big rock. It is promised that the next plenum will see more fierce fighting to compete for influence.
After his trip to the US, Lam will visit Cuba. This is not beneficial to the country, because Cuba is a poor country. Vietnam has donated rice many times to save the Cuban people from starvation, while the ruling Communists here live a lavish life and manipulate power. Many experts believe that Lam’s visit to Cuba this time is to please the conservatives in the Party. This group never thinks about the national interest, but only thinks about the unrealistic Socialist brotherhood.
Once Lam has to flatter the conservatives in the Party, it means that he is still not an invincible force, and still has to make concessions to other groups.
Lam became General Secretary without going through a selection process within the Party, but by carrying out a soft “coup.” Those who are sitting at his lower table will not be able to agree with what he has done and is doing. The most dangerous thing is that they can form an alliance to fight him, then, who knows, will he have enough strength to punish them?
It seems that, from an offensive position, Lam is forced to gradually switch to a defensive position. When the offensive position is blocked, if he does not have a way to push the Hung Yen faction forward, then in the long run, he may be attacked again. Currently, his offensive position has slowed down, because the opposing faction is getting stronger, making more dangerous moves.
Right after becoming General Secretary, Lam went to Beijing to gain support, however, it seems that Xi Jinping still does not trust him, as he trusts Trong. Next, his desire to be being hosted by the US President was refused.
Lam is trying to maintain balance between the two superpowers, but the US is not cooperating, and China wants to launch a test attack.
It can be said that currently, “internal enemies and external enemies” are emerging around Lam. If major policies are not implemented successfully, the opposing forces will have an excuse to collude with each other to oppose him.
Rising up by “revolutionary violence” and ruling also by “revolutionary violence,” even with his comrades, Lam is facing a huge obstacle, created by himself.
Tran Chuong – Thoibao.de
