In his first speech in office, newly elected Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng most frequently mentioned Tô Lâm.
Following the timeline: On the afternoon of April 7, the National Assembly elected Lê Minh Hưng as prime minister.
- During his nine-minute inaugural address, the new head of government referred to General Secretary and President Tô Lâm five times, positioning him at both the opening and conclusion of the speech.
- In one notable passage, Lê Minh Hưng emphasized: “Before the National Assembly and the people nationwide, I pledge: The Government will remain absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, to the people, and to the Constitution; steadfast in the path chosen by the Party, President Hồ Chí Minh, and our people; united under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, with Comrade General Secretary and President Tô Lâm as the core.”
- The speech also mentioned Hồ Chí Minh, the second most frequently referenced figure after Tô Lâm, three times.
Significantly, since the 14th Party Congress in January, this is at least the second time a senior leader of the Communist Party has referred to Tô Lâm as the “core” of leadership.
- Standing member of the Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú was the first to do so on January 20 during the Party Congress.
- The concept of a “core leader,” a term referring to a figure who concentrates significant power, is well known in China through its association with President Xi Jinping. However, it has not previously been formally articulated in Việt Nam.
Analysis: Last week, political analyst Nguyễn Anh Tuấn told The Vietnamese Magazine that this new leadership model reflects “a very strong general secretary paired with a very weak prime minister.” Tuấn noted that Hưng is relatively young and lacks the local governance experience of his predecessors.
“The power of the government will gradually be narrowed, while the power of Party organs will increase,” Tuấn said.
Parallels: Both Tô Lâm and Lê Minh Hưng share deep ties to the public security sector. Tô Lâm is a former Minister of Public Security. Lê Minh Hưng is the son of Senior Lieutenant General Lê Minh Hương, who was a member of the 8th and 9th Politburos. Hương served as the minister of the Interior Ministry, which was renamed the Ministry of Public Security after May 1998, from 1996 to 2002.
