HANOI: Vietnam’s president has stepped down and been ousted from the Communist Party’s top bodies in an unparalleled shakeup, as party secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s anti-corruption purge casts an ever-widening net.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc submitted his resignation after the Party found him responsible for violations and wrongdoing of numerous officials under him, the country’s official news agency said on Tuesday.
Phuc, 68, a former prime minister, has held the largely ceremonial position for less than two years. He served as prime minister for five years prior to his appointment.
“Fully being aware of his responsibilities before the party and people, he submitted an application to resign from his assigned positions, quit his job and retire,” the Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the party’s Central Committee.
Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will become the acting president until the National Assembly votes in a new leader.
There was widespread speculation about Phuc’s resignation following the dismissals earlier this month of two deputy prime ministers, who were working under him when he led the government.
The two deputies — former top diplomat Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam, who led the response to Covid-19 — resigned to take responsibility for bribery investigations tied to repatriation flights and a manufacturer of Covid test kits, respectively.
To become effective, Phuc’s resignation requires approval from the National Assembly. The rubber-stamp legislature is scheduled to hold a rare extraordinary meeting this week.
Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four “pillars”: the party secretary, the president, the prime minister and the chair of the parliament.
The political upheaval in the one-party system known for political stability comes as Trong intensifies his drive to root out officials seen as corrupt or failing to prevent graft because of lax management or not properly vetting officials promoted to positions of influence, said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
“The way it is being carried out in piecemeal — dragging it out — opens the question: ‘Will there be more?’” he said.
Although Vietnam’s presidency is largely ceremonial, for years Phuc served as the face of Vietnam to foreign investors and diplomats around the world. While overseeing one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and improving ties with the US, Phuc frequently met top executives and advocated for free trade during regular addresses to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The political turbulence is sure to be jarring to some investors, who have helped the country become one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Thayer said. Vietnam’s export-dependent economy has benefited from global companies such as Samsung Electronics and Apple suppliers that are transforming the country into a manufacturing hub.
“It is creating uncertainty in Vietnam,” Thayer said. “Will the minister you are dealing with today be there tomorrow?”