The first foreign trip to South American countries of the State President Luong Cuong, in his capacity as head of state of Vietnam, was caught up in a scandal. That was the case of Lieutenant Colonel Can Lai Dac Tuan, a member of the bodyguard team accompanying State President Cuong, who was arrested in Chile on charges of “sexual assault.”
Public opinion has raised the question that will State President Cuong be held responsible as a “leader” when he was the leader of the delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, but let an incident happen that seriously damaged “national dignity”?
Based on regulations and precedents, it is possible that Cuong’s position as State President has begun to “shake” after he has been in office for less than a month. That once again proves that the position of State President is truly an unlucky and thorny position.
During the 13th Party National Congress for the 2021-2026 term, in just over 3 years, the Vietnamese state has had 3 State Presidents who have had to resign, for different reasons.
If Cuong cannot keep the position of State President, it will once again set a new record for the Communist Party of Vietnam, a State President with the shortest term as head of state, just under 1 month. Cuong would also break the record of his predecessor – To Lam, who previously held this position for more than 5 months.
The fact that Vietnam has repeatedly dismissed and elected additional State Presidents reflects a state of political instability. That shows that the Vietnamese political system has not yet escaped a period of prolonged and endless crisis.
General Cuong is from Viet Tri, Phu Tho province. According to observers, in May 2024, he was promoted to the position of Standing Member of the Secretariat. By August 2024, there were rumors that Cuong would take the position of State President – a “haunted” position. At that time, public opinion believed that he would soon lose his position.
In September 2024, Phong Chau bridge in Phu Tho suddenly collapsed, causing many casualties. Not only that, on the day Cuong took office as State President, the following night, the 800-year-old Pho Quang ancient pagoda in Lam Thao district, Phu Tho burned down. The fire was so big that even the lotus stone pedestal, a national treasure, broke and lost its petals. Many people believe that these are very bad omens for State President Cuong.
This is the first time Cuong has traveled abroad as State President but has encountered great bad luck. The top leadership of Vietnam will soon have great turmoil. And the question, why will State President Cuong have to face a “stormy” term has begun to have an answer.
Cuong is considered a high-ranking leader of Vietnam, with a fairly close relationship with the leadership of Beijing. It is known that Cuong has twice attended training courses for high-ranking “source cadres” of the Party in China.
This is the reason why public opinion is concerned about Cuong’s relationship with Beijing. Will Cuong bring the relationship between the two countries back to the time of late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong so that Vietnam continues to depend on China.
Recently, General Secretary To Lam has faced fierce opposition from a group of pro-China senior leaders in the Party, in which Cuong is a central figure.
There are many opinions that, perhaps, the arrest of Tuan in Chile for sexual abuse, was because Tuan was intentionally set up by “someone” in the Party, with the aim of overthrowing Cuong?
Let’s wait and see!
Tra My – Thoibao.de
