Police General Emerges Rising to Top Amid Viet Party Chaos

Foreign investors likely to be frustrated as government returns to “better red than rich” philosophy

By: David Brown

Vietnam’s Communist Party central committee met again last week for the 16th time in 40 months – counting some informal sessions – with at least 12 of those sessions convened merely to sack and replace senior cadres, according to a blogger who keeps count. At last week’s session, Trương Thị Mai's resignation was accepted. She had been the only female member of the Party Politburo, head of the party’s executive secretariat, and perhaps – who knows? – an obstacle to Police General Tô Lâm’s climb to the top. 

Like the five other politburo members ousted since January of 2023, it was reported that “Ms Mai had a number of violations and shortcomings in implementing the regulations on what party members cannot do, and the regulations on the responsibility to set an example for cadres and party members...”

It has also been reported that Tô Lâm was introduced to the 200-member Central Committee as the Politburo’s choice to assume Vietnam’s “State Presidency.” That’s a job with mainly protocolary duties but is said to be a better launching pad than the Ministry of Public Security for someone who’s intent on being named the CPV’s next General Secretary…