Vietnam ruling party boss re-elected, cements hold on power

Vietnam'sCommunistPartyWednesdayre-electedits71-year-oldchiefforasecondterm,anexpectedoutcomethatseestheconservativepro-Chinaideologuecementinghisholdonpower.

Theparty'scongresselectedNguyenPhuTrong(pronouncedNoo-yenFooChong)toa19-memberPolitburo,theall-powerfulbodythathandlestheday-to-dayaffairsofthegovernmentandtheparty.Inasubsequentvote,hewasimmediatelychosenasthegeneral-secretary,thedefactoNo.1leaderofthecountry.

TheannouncementwasmadeontheofficialVietnamNewsAgency'swebsite.

OfficialssaidDeputyPrimeMinisterNguyenXuanPhucwasalsoelectedtothePolitburo,andheisnowexpectedtobecometheprimeminister.HewillreplaceNguyenTanDung,whohadhadledeconomicreformsoverthelast10yearsandhadharboredambitionsforthetopjob.Hischallenge,however,wassnuffedbyTrong'ssupportersduringtheweeklongpartycongressthatendsThursday.

ThethirdmostimportantmemberelectedtothePolitburowasMinisterofPublicSecurityTranDaiQuang,whowillbethecountry'snewpresident,saidtheofficials,whospokeonconditionofanonymitybecausetheywerenotauthorizedtospeaktothemedia.

Thegeneralsecretary,theprimeministerandthepresident,alongwiththechairmanoftheNationalAssembly,arethefourkeymembersinthecollectiveleadershiprepresentedbythePolitburo,andthe180-memberCentralCommittee,whichhandlespolicy.

TherenewaloftheleadershipmeanslittlechangeforVietnam.

TrongisexpectedtocontinuetopushDung'seconomicreforms.Despitehavingareputationforbeingpro-ChinaheisnotlikelytobetotallysubservienttoBeijingasthatwouldriskmassiveangerfromordinaryVietnamesewhoharboradeepdislikeandhistoricalsuspicionofChina.

"ManypeoplewereafraidthataconservativetrendwouldprevailifMr.Trongisre-elected.But...whoevertheymaybe,andhoweverconservativetheymaybe,whentheyareatthehelmtheyareunderpressuretocarryoutreforms,"LeHongHiep,avisitingVietnamesefellowattheInstituteofSoutheastAsiaStudiesinSingapore,toldTheAssociatedPress.

TheCommunistPartyisentitledbytheconstitutiontogovernandVietnam's93millionpeoplehavenodirectroleinelectingtheleadersofthe4.5million-memberparty.

ItisbelievedthatasacompromisewithPrimeMinisterDung'scamp,Trongwillnotservehisfullfive-yeartermbutmayhandoverpowertoanotherleadermid-way.

Dungwasseenasapro-businessleaderwhoinvestorsbelievewouldhavecontinuedwitheconomicreformshesetinmotion10yearsagothathelpedVietnamattractafloodofforeigninvestmentandwaspartlyresponsiblefortriplingthepercapitaGDPtoUS$2,100.HewasalsoseenasstandinguptoChina,whichismakingaggressiveterritorialclaimsintheSouthChinaSeaandbuildingislands,muchtothechagrinofSoutheastAsianationswhohaveconflictingclaimsinthewaters.

DespiteTrong'sreputationasbeingananti-thesisofDung,therealityisnotsoblack-and-white.ObserversagreethattheeconomicreformsDungstartedhavetheblessingsofthecollectiveleadership,includingTrong.

AclearexamplecamewhenaplenumoftheoutgoingCentralCommitteeoverwhelminglyendorsedVietnamjoiningtheTrans-PacificPartnership,aUSledfree-tradeinitiative.

ThecosmeticchangeintheleadershipalsomeansthatVietnamhasnoimmediatehopesforpoliticalreforms,eventhoughthereisadesireinthegovernmenttoloosenuponpublicfreedoms.

"Theyarefacedwithadilemma.Theywanttomaintaintheone-partyruleandatthesametimetheywanttohavereformsinsomelimitedareas,"saidHiep,theVietnamesescholar.

"Theirtrendistochange,buttheywillstillbecautious,becausetheparty'sultimategoalistomaintaintheirmonopolyonpower,"Hiepsaid.