Vietnam unanimously elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as president for a five-year term, consolidating his control over both the party and the state.
The move departs from Vietnam’s tradition of shared leadership, in which the jobs have typically been held by different people, and echoes power structures in China under Xi Jinping and neighboring Laos.
It has been widely expected since Lam’s reelection as Communist Party head in January, when observers noted that his consolidation of party authority positioned him to assume the presidency as well.
I’m sure they’ll have free and fair elections going forward…in that great China similar power structure. That’s what always happens when electing one of them authoritarians after all. I hope the best for the people of course.
Edit: I will say I have no idea of the ballot options and even if they had a fair election now or if other was worse.
“elects”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Vietnam
Elections in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are held under a one-party political system led by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).
One party but different people to elect. Just like primaries.
The spread of communism was definitely not on my 2026 bingo card.
Vietnam has been communist for decades. This article is about the head of the communist party becoming the head of state, when previously they were separate roles filled by two different people, both from the communist party.
This isn’t about “communism” per se, it’s about consolidation of power under one individual, in a system where those two roles were traditionally separate.
Like, imagine if the president of the US was also the speaker of the house and the senate majority leader. Oh wait, he basically functionally is currently because of a spineless Congress doing his every bidding. So you can see the problem here, right?
I’m not saying it’ll be just as bad, as I don’t know anything about Lam. But at the very least, it sets a dangerous precedent. He might be a fine upstanding guy, but what’s stopping the next guy from being worse? Or the guy after that? That’s why tradition and precedent can be so important in politics.
god forbid vietnam wants communism.
Oh good. Are we going to go back in? Or are we just going to choke them economically?
Trump’s son Eric is building a 1.5 billion dollar golf course there.
So it’ll be a soft takeover.
Nah, no oil. Trump has other toys he’s playing with.
Unanimously, right.
“It’s not democracy without the constant threat of the far right stripping my rights and destroying my economy”
Yes that’s generally how democracies are supposed to work. After filtering out the unqualified candidates there should only be one obvious choice.
There’s no question on who the best plumber or carpenter is, why should that be any different for political work?
ThErE’s No QuEsTiOn oN wHo ThE BeSt PluMbEr is… "
Yes there absolutely is and always will be a question on who the best fucking plumber is.
“BEST” isn’t some kind of universally defined state of being. What’s “BEST” is completely fucking subjective and SHOULD be determined by a network of experts or peers, as that’s likely how your are determining what’s BEST for you.
As THAT IS HOW EVERYONE DEFINES WHAT IS “BEST.”
Whose the best plumber in your area?
Did you check Google? And find someone with 500 reviews that are all 5 stars?
How about Yelp?
How about the Better Business Bureau?
Wow. Every single resource available that can determine who the “BEST” plumber is comes from a collection of unique inputs from others that have a shared experience of using that plumber. All whose collected perspectives on Google reviews let a sentient jar of mayonnaise like yourself determine who the BEST plumber is.
Whats BEST is completely subjective at best, and not easily determined by anyone but a panel of experts which you clearly use without noticing on a near daily basis.
At worst, BEST is an ever changing non-existing state that can never be determined without other fixed inputs.
Whose the BEST basketball player?
Is it Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
ARE BOTH THE “BEST” DEPENDING ON HOW THAT QUESTION IS ASKED?
Oh shit, looks like you need additional input to determine what the BEST even is in literally every single interpretation of it imaginable.
Maybe you should hire a panel of experts to figure out who THE BEST IS at that moment. Or maybe a massively broad review of everyone’s opinion to determine from the masses who the BEST IS TO THEM.
OH SHIT THAT’S DEMOCRACY AND THE OBVIOUS FUCKING BENEFITS THAT ADDED EXPERTISE AND PERSPECTIVE PROVIDES.
What is BEST isn’t simple to determine at all. Your entire argument is garbage. And based on a laughably dumb and short sighted perspective that doesn’t hold up to the most basic scrutiny.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve read today. Either you forgot the ‘/s’ or you don’t understand democracy and haven’t ever hired a plumber or carpenter.
Hows that liberal democracy working out for you? I don’t think any leader in a western liberal democracy has had more than 60% support, and they’ve all been universally disliked by the time they’ve left office.
Almost like you objectively cannot determine the capability of someone based on a popularity contest with no actual rules.
Almost like you should have strict rigid standards and only have those with years of experience in a field vote for the best one amongst them.
It’s not a flaw of liberal democracy. Its a flaw of unanswerable heirachies of power. You know, the sort of thing the parties and Xi are speed running. There have been decent leaders under liberal democracy. But power in the form of bourgeoisie money always interferes. Just as the power of the bourgeoisie in China in the form of the party and those in power interferes.
Who do you think is the bourgeoisie in China and why do you think Xi, who has to win reelection every time and started as a farm boy in rural China is somehow an unanswerable dictator?
Like you understand China regularly executes billionaires, strips companies of their power and wealth, including and especially all executives, nationalizes the resources of the rich on a VERY consistent basis, and has no function for rich people to influence government, right?
Like you have actually researched how China’s government works from Chinese sources and come to your own conclusion and not just listened to NED (cia) funded organizations like RFA who regularly just make shit up with no sources specifically to create a negative view of China in order to justify sanctions and military action while demonizing the most successful example of actual democratic socialism to have every existed, right?
Only a complete ninnyhammer would just accept the conclusions drawn for them by the CIA and it’s leaf companies and not actually research how things work.
Finally someone who has a better understanding how China actually works.
And for the commentar below, actually it’s not only the so called opposition that gets imprisoned or executed. Lately they have been going after Xi’s appointees and allies.
Who do you think is the bourgeoisie in China and why do you think Xi, who has to win reelection every time and started as a farm boy in rural China is somehow an unanswerable dictator?
He’s president for life. He no longer faces election. The bourgeoisie can come from anywhere and any class. There is no background that makes you immune from becoming part of the bourgeoisie. But in the future I’ve got this handy trick you can use to identify bourgeoisie. I call it the “definition”.
Like you understand China regularly executes billionaires, strips companies of their power and wealth, including and especially all executives, nationalizes the resources of the rich on a VERY consistent basis, and has no function for rich people to influence government, right?
China regularly murders all those who cross the party. Bourgeoisie and proletariat alike. It’s not a virtue. That the party allows and supports the existence of such a petit bourgeoisie in any capacity is damning to anyone who isn’t a hypocrite campist. That you think the wealthy and powerful have no purchase or influence over themselves is cute though.
I don’t take the US government at it’s word. And I’m not such a gullible fool to take China’s at theirs like some people either. My family suffered genocide at the hands of the US, Canada, and the Soviet Union. I’ve met people who themselves or their family been targeted by chinas government for oppression. If you want to dismiss every non Chinese government source, that’s willfully ignorant, but consistent. Just like the liberals so many that glaze China claim hate while behaving so similar.
Only a complete ninnyhammer would blame the CIA for every criticism of China’s government.
He’s president for life. He no longer faces election.
This isn’t true.
He faces election every five years.
The change you’re confusing is there are no term limits, so he can be elected again in 2028, should the NPC so choose (which they won’t since he’ll be retired by then.)
The bourgeoisie can come from anywhere and any class. There is no background that makes you immune from becoming part of the bourgeoisie. But in the future I’ve got this handy trick you can use to identify bourgeoisie. I call it the “definition”.
Cool, Xi, and the entirety of the people’s congress falls outside that definition.
So what definition are you using that is entirely different from Marx’s?
China regularly murders all those who cross the party. Any sources to back up this claim?
Bourgeoisie and proletariat alike.
Except the death penalty specifically targets the Bourgeoisie, as it in was originally only envisioned for it and besides murder and treason there are no crimes a proletariat can perform to get a death sentence, period.
It’s not a virtue. That the party allows and supports the existence of such a petit bourgeoisie in any capacity is damning to anyone who isn’t a hypocrite campist. That you think the wealthy and powerful have no purchase or influence over themselves is cute though.
Everything here is unsubstantiated nonsense, I do hope you look into any independent sources to try to back this up though.
I’ve met people who themselves or their family been targeted by chinas government for oppression
Got any names or sources? I very much doubt it was ‘oppression,’ and not ‘they committed a crime that’s a crime everywhere and gave you a sob story.’
If you want to dismiss every non Chinese government source, that’s willfully ignorant, but consistent. Just like the liberals so many that glaze China claim hate while behaving so similar.
Give me a non-NED source for any of your claims.
Period.
Change my mind. Every single time I have asked this of a sinophobe, they have only provided NED sources.
So if you have non-NED sources, give me them.
I assume they are elected by parliament, not by general election. Not an uncommon practice.
It’s the National Assembly that elected him. It’s like a Parliament, but there are no Executive or Judicial branches that are independent from it.
The Assembly seats 500. A unanimous vote still shows that people are afraid to cross the leader. Like Republicans with Trump, only there are no Democrats. There are a handful of “Independents,” with the vast, vast majority being Vietnamese Communist Party members.
