Central Conference 9: Cautious steps of the Party

The 9th Central Conference of the 12th tenure concluded on the afternoon of December 26 after two days of urgent, serious, democratic and responsible work. The conference completed the entire agenda, although not much, but the issues were very important. Expressing his opinion on the significance of the 9th Central Conference, expert Nguyen Tran Bat, founder of InvestConsult Group, said that he admired the cautious steps of the 9th Central Conference.

PV:The 9th Central Conference has just closed with some important results. Can you give some comments on this Conference?

Expert Nguyen Tran Bat: I am very impressed by the Party's carefulness in conducting the 9th Central Conference. As stated by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Communist Magazine Nhi Le, this is an early step compared to previous terms. This proves that our Party has realized that the decisive factor for the success of the Congresses lies in preparing the Party's organizational structures, the most important of which is the Central Executive Committee. As someone who has responded to the Party's quality leadership activities, I am very surprised, pleased and impressed by this carefulness.

PV:This caution, as General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized in his opening speech at the Conference, is that the planning of the Central Executive Committee for the 2021-2026 term is not yet a specific "personnel" for the next term, but an important preparation step, the basis for the personnel work of the Party's 13th term Executive Committee, is that right, sir?

Expert Nguyen Tran Bat: The political reality of the open-door period has exposed our Party to many political diseases. The two Resolutions of the 4th Central Committee of the 11th and 12th terms clearly stated that a significant number of Party members have degraded in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle. The political and economic degradation of a number of Party members during the 30 years of renovation has left Party leaders with a lesson that if they are not well prepared, it is very likely to lead to risks for the Congresses. I was very nervous about the developments of the 12th Congress, but I still steadfastly maintained my positive forecasts for the 13th Congress.

Our Party has learned many lessons from the open-door period, especially the lessons from the 12th Congress, to prepare for the next term. I find the statement of General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong that at this 9th Central Conference, we must carefully select, step by step, worthy representatives of the Party so that the Party can continue to firmly hold the leadership, very appropriate. This is the process in which our Party is eliminating negative factors that interest groups have planted in the system.

Closing session of the 9th Central Conference, term XII, afternoon of December 26

PV:Another important content of the Central Conference is to take a vote of confidence for senior leadership positions of the Party and State. What is your comment on this?

Expert Nguyen Tran Bat: Our Party does not use a vote of confidence to praise itself before the people, nor does it seek the people's approval. This is an internal activity to clearly know the political quality of its members.

Not all those with high confidence ratings satisfy the political demands of the situation. High confidence sometimes reflects the cognitive weaknesses of those who vote. Therefore, a vote of confidence not only evaluates the person being voted for but also evaluates the voter, that is, evaluates the overall quality of the Central Executive Committee, an important organization of the Party. Only those responsible can realize this.

I do not like it when there are cases where one announces one’s high confidence as a political success. And I also do not believe that leaders who have high confidence votes are happy about that, when the Party still has problems like the problem of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. That is a terrible pain. No confidence can compensate for the pain of a responsible leader facing the disintegration of the structures in such an important Party Committee.

It is important to understand that a vote of confidence is to re-examine the political quality of each position and each organization, not to make a few individuals rejoice that they have succeeded. That may be the success of a few individuals, but it is not the success of the Party. I welcome the secrecy, considering the vote of confidence as an activity to consult the quality of the Party's structures.

PV:This conference decided to discipline Mr. Tat Thanh Cang by removing him from the position of Central Committee member and other positions in the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. This once again affirms that our Party has no "no-go zones" in handling violations, sir?

Expert Nguyen Tran Bat: The Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee is an important Party Committee of our Party. During the war, it was the frontline Party Committee, but now a series of officials have been prosecuted. This is not only the pain of that Party Committee but also of the entire Party. The removal of Mr. Tat Thanh Cang from the position of Central Committee member further confirms that such "qualities" cannot exist in the Central Executive Committee and Party Committees of important cities like Ho Chi Minh City.

In my opinion, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee needs to learn from experience, needs to know how to feel pain before the negatives and violations that have occurred, and even needs to organize political activities of the entire Party Committee to share the pain before the negatives and violations that have occurred.

As a Vietnamese citizen, I look forward to the serious recognition of the responsibility of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee so that the people can, to some extent, love again and forgive. The people's reflex of forgiveness is an extremely important reflex for a political organization.

PV:Thank you sir./.