Asian Angle | Vietnam’s To Lam is ruthlessly cementing control and reshaping the party in his image
- Vietnam’s new general secretary has installed loyalists in positions of influence and wielded the security apparatus to eliminate challenges
Make no doubt, Lam is in full control.
Following the funeral of the long-serving general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the Central Committee elected Lam as its acting general secretary.
He moved with the speed and dispatch that had been evident since he began his systematic targeting of rivals on the Politburo in December 2022. In the following 20 months, he orchestrated the resignations of seven of the 18 members who had been elected at the 13th Congress in January 2021.
It was an unprecedented degree of political churn and personal ambition, in a system that prides itself on stability and collective leadership.
Even before his election, Lam was nominally in charge, often appearing in Trong’s absence, as the 80-year-old leader was in failing health.
