If you are not a good example, what is the point of being a cadre?

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong: "If nearly 200 members of the 12th Central Committee, each comrade upholds the responsibility of setting an example, the influence will be huge."

Demands from practice

The issue of setting an example for cadres and party members has been mentioned for a long time and many times in the resolutions and regulations of the Party. But perhaps never before has the responsibility of setting an example been raised so strongly and resolutely as in recent years.

Right at the 4th Central Conference of the 11th tenure, our Party stated: “A significant number of cadres and party members, including those holding leadership and management positions, including some senior cadres, have degraded in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle with various manifestations of fading ideals, falling into selfish individualism, opportunism, pragmatism, chasing after fame, money, status, localism, corruption, and waste...”. This situation has reduced the people's trust in the Party; if not corrected, it will be a challenge to the Party's leadership role and the survival of the regime.

In the Resolution of the 12th National Congress, our Party pointed out: "The state of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle of a significant number of cadres and Party members has not been pushed back; in some areas and parts, the situation has become more complicated."

After pointing out 27 specific manifestations to identify the degradation of political ideology, morality, lifestyle and "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party, the Party Central Committee also affirmed: from the degradation of political ideology, morality, lifestyle leading to "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" is just a short step, even very short, with unpredictable dangers... Therefore, preventing and repelling the degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle among cadres and party members, especially strategic-level cadres, is an urgent requirement in the work of Party building and rectification; it has a decisive significance for the survival of the Party.

From this situation, at the 8th Central Conference (12th tenure), the Central Executive Committee discussed and reached a high consensus on issuing Regulation No. 08-QD/TW on “Responsibility to set an example for cadres and party members, first of all Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Party Executive Committee members”. Previously, on June 7, 2012, the Central Party Secretariat issued Regulation 101-QD/TW on the responsibility to set an example for cadres and party members, especially key leaders at all levels. Then, on December 19, 2016, the Politburo also issued Regulation No. 55-QD/TW on a number of immediate actions to strengthen the exemplary role of cadres and party members, in order to preserve the image and prestige of the Party... However, with Regulation No. 08-QD/TW, perhaps this is the first time the Party Central Committee has issued a regulation that specifically mentions the exemplary responsibility of the highest leaders of the Party.

Overview of the 8th Central Conference, term XII.

"If you are not a good example, what is the point of being a cadre?"

Regulation No. 08-QD/TW stated eight things that Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Executive Committee members must take the lead in implementing; at the same time, it also clearly stated eight things that must be strict with oneself and resolutely opposed. Notable among them are the regulations: “Inconsistent words, words that do not match actions, saying a lot but doing little”; “Running for or assisting in running for positions, power, votes, and votes of confidence”; “Promoting, appointing, and assigning officials who do not meet the prescribed standards and conditions, especially for relatives and close friends”; “Corruption and bribery in all forms”...

In his closing speech at the 8th Conference of the 12th Party Central Committee, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: If nearly 200 members of the 12th Party Central Committee, each comrade upholds the responsibility of setting an example, the influence will be great, creating a strong change in the entire Party and the entire political system, contributing to consolidating and enhancing the trust of cadres, party members and people in the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat.

Speaking more clearly about this issue, at the meeting with voters in Hanoi before the 6th Session of the 14th National Assembly, the General Secretary and President said that the issue of setting an example is not only for Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Committee members, but all Party members must do: “We must understand it more broadly, but the highest officials must set an example by implementing the 19 things Party members must not do, the 27 signs of degradation that everyone must fight against. The common responsibility is for officials to do, Party members go first and the country follows. This time the regulation was issued by the Central Committee, not the Politburo, so its position is much greater (...). If we are not exemplary, what is the point of being an official? Therefore, we emphasize the responsibility of nearly 200 Central Committee members to be exemplary, do it first, and have high unity”.

How to set an example?

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh often advised: Setting an example is not just about shouting slogans, not just about talking, but also about actions and deeds. Therefore, to carry out the content of setting an example well, cadres and party members must do good things in life. According to his point of view, "taking good people and good deeds as examples to educate each other every day is one of the best ways to build the Party, build revolutionary organizations, build new people, and a new life".

Reality has shown that many ruling parties in the world have declined due to corruption and degeneration within the party, and have lost prestige in the hearts of the people. Deeply aware of this problem, our Party has always focused on Party building and rectification. As General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong said: If our Party is not truly steadfast in politics and ideology, not highly unified in will and action; not clean in ethics and lifestyle; not tight in organization, it cannot stand firm and have enough strength to lead the country forward. Therefore, the important issue in Party building and rectification is that each cadre and party member must first of all be a shining example of internal solidarity and clean in ethics and lifestyle.

Evaluating the content of Regulation 08, Mr. Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, said that in order to effectively implement the contents of the Regulation on exemplary responsibility, the first thing is that cadres and party members themselves must be people with bright minds and pure hearts, not because of pressure from society or anyone. "Comrades themselves must voluntarily and consciously comply and because of the revolutionary enthusiasm that they swore to do when they joined the Party, not because of pressure from the organization or society," Mr. Tuc expressed.

Sharing the same view, according to Mr. Tran Hong Ha, member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, as a Party member and a leader, if one wants to tell his subordinates and those we need to gather and mobilize to follow, the Party member and leader themselves must be exemplary; must try to practice and strive to truly be an example for others. “When building an image or a movement to set an example, it is necessary to focus on the criteria and conditions appropriate for each specific person, each specific title and position. I think that setting an example for each cadre, Party member or key leader is what we are doing to build the image and prestige of the Party stronger and stronger,” said Mr. Ha.

At the National Conference to study and disseminate Resolution of the 8th Central Committee, Session XII, held at the end of November 2018, Head of the Central Organizing Committee Pham Minh Chinh also affirmed: “Carrying out the responsibility of setting an example is to demonstrate the pioneering and exemplary nature, the political commitment of the Central Committee members to themselves and to the entire Party and the entire people; is to make setting an example a voluntary, regular activity, a cultural lifestyle of Party members in the political system”. At the same time, Mr. Chinh also gave an example of a simple and frugal lifestyle, such as not changing cars, renovating the office when promoted or giving up housing standards to subordinates, although it is just a small action of a leader but it also has a great impact, demonstrating the exemplary nature of the leader.

Reality shows that people's trust in the Party and wholeheartedly follow the Party often starts with the concrete actions of exemplary models. As President Ho Chi Minh said: "A living example is worth more than a hundred propaganda speeches", meaning that in order to guide the people, cadres and party members must set the first example for everyone to follow. In order for the masses to listen to them and follow them, party members, in their actions, words and behavior, must truly set an example for the people to trust and follow. The exemplary revolutionary ethics, political mettle, qualities, capacity and prestige of each cadre and party member, especially the team of strategic-level cadres, will create the people's firm trust in the Party, be a great source of strength, and contribute practically to the fulfillment of the noble mission in the current work of Party building and rectification.