Vietnam’s political strongman Nguyen Phu Trong dies; spotlight turns to potential successors
The Communist Party chief had held the post since 2011 and his tenure was marked by his ‘blazing furnace’ anti-graft campaign and ‘bamboo diplomacy’
[HO CHI MINH CITY] General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong died on Friday (Jul 19) following a serious illness, putting an end to his 13-year tenure as the nation’s most powerful figure. Trong’s death will leave a void difficult to fill given his lengthy tenure, authority and chutzpah, experts say.
This change in the country’s most powerful seat is unfolding amid a politically unstable environment, marked by an unprecedented series of high-level resignations. The departures of two state presidents and a parliament head have upended Vietnam’s longstanding reputation for stable politics.
While, officially, their exits were said to be related to “violations” and “shortcomings” amid Trong’s sweeping anti-graft crackdown dubbed the “blazing furnace”, there are rumblings that they were the result of infighting in the Communist Party.
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