Vietnam's leader To Lam strengthens power in unanimous assembly vote

Vietnam's leader To Lam strengthens power in unanimous assembly vote21 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJonathan Head,BangkokandKoh Ewe,SingaporeAFP via Getty ImagesTo Lam has secured enough backing to give him both the presidency and the top job in Vietnam's communist partyVietnam's communist-dominated general assembly has elected To Lam, the party leader, to be the country's president and head of state, an unusual concentration of power in one person. He was elected unanimously by the 500 seat assembly which started sitting on Monday, following the Communist Party Congress in January, which makes all the big decisions about the country's future direction.This makes To Lam the most powerful leader in Vietnam in recent decades.To Lam rose over the last decade by serving as the powerful Minister for Public Security, enforcing a nationwide anti-corruption drive which saw many of his potential rivals disgraced and purged.In 2024, he took over the jobs of both general secretary of the communist party and president temporarily, after the resignation of then-president Vo Van Thuong and the death of party boss Nguyen Phu Trong.The Communist Party of Vietnam has always preferred collective leadership shared among the four most senior national positions, now expanded to five, known as the "five pillars".However, To Lam has now secured enough backing to take the two top jobs for the next five years, inviting comparisons with China, where President Xi Jinping has also concentrated power in his hands.Xi congratulated To Lam in January, when he successfully retained his job as secretary general of Vietnam's communist party. Xi said at the time that he would work with To Lam to "carry forward the traditional friendship" between the two socialist neighbours.There is historical anti-Chinese sentiment expressed by the Vietnamese population, but relations between the two communist parties are close.Compared to China, howe...