2025 not only marks the 95th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, but is also a time when a series of political events will take place that are especially important to the country's development process.
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| Dr. Nguyen Van Dang believes that 2025 will not only mark the 95th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam but also mark a series of particularly important political events. (Photo: NVCC) |
These are Party congresses at all levels, leading up to the 14th National Party Congress, scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2026.
As in every Party Congress, in addition to political guidelines, leadership vision and policy orientation, the top concern of the people in the country is the leadership team at all levels. In particular, the group of strategic leaders, especially those holding key positions in the Party and State, not only for the upcoming term, but also attract the attention of the international community.
During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh once stated the view that “cadres are the root of all work… Success or failure of all work depends on good or bad cadres”. The position and decisive role of the cadre team was explained by Uncle Ho in a very simple and easy-to-understand way. Accordingly, cadres in general are different from ordinary people in that they “must represent the interests of the nation and the class” and “must not represent personal interests”.
Expressed in modern language, the primary political duty and responsibility of every official working in the political system in our country is to think and act for the common good. These are interests related to many people that they themselves cannot solve, so they need the intervention of State agencies. It also means that, first of all, responsible Party and State officials are not allowed to think and act only for the selfish, short-sighted interests of themselves, or their team, group, or faction.
According to President Ho Chi Minh, responsible cadres must always be aware of their role as a bridge between the masses and the Party and the State. Because they are the ones who “explain the policies of the Party and the Government to the people so that they can understand and implement them. At the same time, they must report the situation of the people to the Party and the Government to understand clearly, in order to set the right policies”. Therefore, each cadre must “firmly grasp the policies, follow the right path for the masses, and fulfill their duties”.
Of the three criteria mentioned above, the requirement to master the “mass line” is very noteworthy. According to Uncle Ho, cadres will master the mass line when they “not only have to work hard to explain, propagate, and agitate, but also have to discuss with the masses, ask for opinions, and collect initiatives from the masses. Lead the masses, and welcome criticism from the masses.” In other words, in essence, each cadre will strictly follow the “mass line” if they always respect the people, listen to and understand their aspirations, and act closely in the interests of the people, the country, and the nation.
In the context of history, cultural and political traditions and the current level of socio-economic development of Vietnam, the viewpoint of valuing the human factor is still a "certain truth". Unlike people in many developed countries who are more concerned with institutional or policy adjustments, Vietnamese people today are still primarily concerned with the qualities and capacities of individual leaders and managers to make judgments about the ability to make positive changes in agencies, units, or localities as well as on a national level.
Under the modern lens, the political institutional system in our country is organized and operated according to the principle of "centralization and unification of power" which also strengthens the belief in the decisive role of the human factor, specifically the cadre team, in the success or failure of community governance. Whether it is at the local or national level, the characteristic of "centralization and unification of power" of the political system makes the risk of abuse of power for personal gain always present. Therefore, cadres with key qualities such as: Ethics - Talent - Integrity will become the most solid foundation for the operation for the common benefit of the entire political system.
Recognizing the key role of the cadre team in the revolutionary cause and national development, recent Party congress documents always affirm that "Cadre work is a 'key' task of Party building, related to the survival of the Party and the fate of the regime". Personnel work becomes even more special when the message and determination to bring the country into the "era of national rise" has been publicly declared by the Party and State leaders and received widespread support from the people in the country as well as the attention of international friends.
Therefore, a top priority task of the Party in 2025 is to best prepare for the "root of all work" to be implemented in the 2026 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2045. However, as the country is on the threshold of entering a breakthrough development period, we must also face a question that has not yet had a thorough answer: How to have a good team of cadres, not only for the upcoming term?
Looking to the future with positive beliefs, we cannot ignore the undesirable reality that has occurred recently. The determination to build and rectify the Party and the efforts to eliminate corruption and negativity have caused tens of thousands of cadres and Party members to be disciplined and even prosecuted before the law. This reality forces us to think and act more seriously for the future to minimize the situation of "correct procedures but wrong appointments", leaving many consequences for the country.
Decades ago, President Ho Chi Minh had very convincing thoughts: “Working for the country now means sacrifice, striving, forgetting personal interests and thinking of the common interest. Those who want to become revolutionary officials should definitely not be elected.” In the context of the modern world, Uncle Ho's point of view is still completely correct because state agencies (or the public sector) are not places for individuals to seek and increase material benefits for themselves.
Instead, there is no need to wait until becoming a leader or manager, but right from the time of applying for a job at a State agency, each person needs to be aware that the career they will pursue is to serve the community, not to seek selfish interests. Instead, the State has the highest legitimacy to recognize each person's dedication to the development of the locality, the country and the nation.
This also means that the greatest benefit that each individual can receive when working for the State is spiritual values, not material ones. This characteristic not only raises the need to continue to innovate the personnel work process in the direction of promoting the sense of service and dedication, but also ensures that those with the capacity and aspiration to contribute are selected, given opportunities and provided with favorable conditions to realize the things they desire and pursue.
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