The Old Guard Retakes Control in Vietnam

During his decade in power in Communist-ruled Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hasn’t been afraid to take controversial stands. He’s advocated the sale of state-owned companies and steered the country into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even though membership in the 12-nation trade pact will require Vietnam to take painful steps to further open its economy. Dung, who’s barred from seeking a third term when his current one expires later this year, had hoped to retain a measure of authority by becoming head of the Communist Party. Delegates to the party congress in Hanoi had other ideas. On Jan. 26 they forced him into retirement.

Dung’s defeat was a victory for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who leads an old guard schooled in the ways of a command economy. If this faction puts the brakes on liberalization, it could jeopardize Vietnam’s momentum. “They’re not going to reverse reforms, but they are not going to speed them up either,” says Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington. “They will be more cautious about the pace.”