Governing, leading role of the Communist Party of Viet Nam

 In the process of leading the revolution, our Party has become more fully and deeply aware of its position, role, and method of governing and leading the State and society. Nevertheless, the issues of governing party and the Party’s governance in the context of building a law-governed socialist state have not been fully and deeply understood so far, especially the resolution of the relationship between the Party’s leadership and the State’s power. Consequently, further clarification of theoretical-practical issues regarding the governing, leading Communist Party of Viet Nam is of significant importance on the threshold of the 13^th National Party Congress.

When Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were alive, they attached special importance to the issues of governing party and governing communist party. However, in their era, in fact, the proletariat failed to seize power and establish proletariat states. Therefore, they were not in the right position to elaborate these issues. Instead, they focused on analysing the notions of class and class struggle as well as social revolution in a society which was split into hostile camps. On such basis, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels affirmed the need of establishing political parties of the proletariat and emphasised the role of these parties in seizing and upholding their leadership of states and societies.

Based on realities of the international labour movement in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century as well as leadership of the October Revolution in Russia, Vladimir I. Lenin supplemented and developed creatively Karl Marx’s and Friedrich Engels’ ideology on the inevitability of building political parties of the proletariat, thereby elevating this ideology into a revolutionary, scientific theory about building a new-style Marxist party of the working class to lead the socialist revolution and building of socialism. According to Vladimir I. Lenin, the inevitability of building and strengthening position and leading role of the proletariat’s new-style Marxist party was the fundamental precondition and deciding factor in the success of revolutionary struggle to realise the aspiration of liberating the working class, countries, societies, and people.

As a founder and trainer of our Party, President Ho Chi Minh paid special attention to Party building under the condition that the Party was in power. The concept of ruling Communist Party was first introduced by him to affirm that “our Party is a ruling party”, the only party in the political system exercising political power and leadership of state since 1945 when the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam came into being. As for our people, “ruling party” means “leading party.” The Party assumes authority and controls state power. The Party is embodied in the State and nation. In essence, the Party uses the State to lead public authorities and political system to achieve the goal of national independence in connection with socialism and bring about benefit for the people.

The governance of the Communist Party of Viet Nam is manifested in its platforms, guidelines, and resolutions. In essence, the Party’s governance clearly displays the power and influence of the only ruling party, which is trusted and recognised by the people and stipulated by the Constitution. The Party is not above the law and outside the law. It does not go against people’s power and interest; does not have opposition parties and compete for power. Accurate, sensible, optimal identification of the Party’s governance and leadership suitable for each historical stage and concrete mission requirement enables the Party to lead the Vietnamese Revolution to success. This affirms the Party’s prestige and governing position; vividly manifests specificities and inevitability of the revolution that needs uniform governance of the Party and matches historical development, social progress, and practical conditions of the Vietnamese Revolution. The Party exercises governance through its leadership of government bodies but does not represent the State and act on behalf of the State. In principle, the Party is not a government body. Thus, it does not perform the functions of public authorities. It means that the Party’s power cannot and must not be identified with the State’s power although there remain some shortcomings in the exercise of the Party’s governing, leading role, which potentially lead to arbitrariness, excessive actions, bureaucracy, corruption, democratic constraint, etc., hampering development of the Party.

Exploitation of criticising monism and one-party system, opportunists and reactionaries have attacked our Party to call for pluralism, a multi-party system, and foundation of a “non-communist” state. This is absurdity and unacceptable. Evidence indicates that, in a country, the existence of one or more parties is not the key factor that categorises a country as democracy or not. The matter is how that country ensures people’s democracy and power under the party’s leadership of the state and society. Practice of leading the Vietnamese Revolution shows that our Party always devotes itself wholeheartedly to the nation and people. It is also trusted and supported by the people. Therefore, the Party has led our people to win all wars of aggression, conduct successful reform, and record great achievements of historical significance. History of the Vietnamese Revolution has verified and certified that when the Party had not seized power, its most important political mission was to lead the people to struggle to topple the colonialist, feudalist regime and establish the revolutionary administration for the people. When the wars have been over and our people have seized power, our Party becomes the ruling party and takes great care of people’s interest, enabling people to enjoy the fruits of the revolution they have shed their blood for.

Given its position as the ruling party in charge of leading the revolution, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh attach special importance to building solidarity and unity within the Party and always request every cadre and party member to take care of strengthening the great national unity, regarding this as the Party’s conscience and responsibility to the people, the only way to firmly uphold our Party’s pivotal governing, leading role. Great national unity is not only a stratagem but a long-term, consistent strategy of the ruling party. To make our Party always deserve people’s confidence and adoration, each cadre and party member must remain “faithful to the country, pious to the people” all their life and try their best to become absolutely obedient leaders and “servants” of the people.

When the Party was not been in power and had to work secretly, it relied completely on the people, lived among the people, was brought up, protected, and supported by the people in every aspect. Consequently, the Party was remarkably close to the people, developed strong attachments to the people, and wholeheartedly served the Homeland and people. When the Party has come to power, its cadres and party members are assigned with many important tasks in the apparatus of the Party, State, and socio-political organisations responsible for managing people’s power, property, money. If they lack self-improvement and training, they are likely to become “revolutionary lords,” who despise and harass the people, making the people dissatisfied and lose confidence in the Party, State, and superiority of the socialist regime. Therefore, to become “truly loyal servants” of the people without betraying people’s confidence requires each cadre and party member to share people’s concerns, losses, and happiness. If the people still suffer from hunger and poverty, the Party has not fulfilled its responsibility.

One of the most fundamental contents that clearly express the Party’s governing role is to handle the relationship between the Party and the State and socio-political organisations in a thoughtful, harmonious manner, successfully realising the mechanism of the Party’s leadership, the State’s management and the people’s mastery. To fulfil its glorious mission requires the Party to concurrently lead the comprehensive implementation of tasks in the fields of economy, politics, culture, society, national defence, security, and diplomacy, achieving the goals of prosperous people and a strong, democratic, equitable and advanced country. One of the most viable solutions is that the ruling Party leads the State by selecting and putting its cadres, who possess fine dignity, competence, and people’s confidence and adoration, in important positions in the apparatus of the Party and State agencies from the Central to local and grassroots levels to lead these bodies and the Fatherland Front to operate effectively in line with the Party’s guidelines and their designated functions, missions, rights, and responsibilities. The reason for the Party’s successful exercise of its power is that it wholeheartedly devotes itself to the country and people; leads the State and society in a democratic, open, transparent, logical, scientific manner; is always innovative and creative to facilitate smooth, effective operation of the State apparatus, Fatherland Front, and socio-political organisations. The Party gathers, assembles, and brings into play its direct leading role and indirect leading role through the State and socio-political organisations to make “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, and the people enjoy.”

Our Party is successfully performing its governing, leading role and responsibility to the nation and entire people as well as before opportunities and difficulties. To do this requires the Party to further improve its intelligence, prestige, and position; remain steadfast and creative in applying Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought to national construction and defence in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, regarding this as the key to enabling our country to record new achievements. It is necessary for the Party to seriously and effectively implement Resolution of the 4^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (12^th Tenure) on Party building to make our Party truly pure and strong, capable of leading our country to early become a modern, high-income economy. The Party’s leadership of the State, Fatherland Front, political system, and the whole society needs to be reformed to realise the development aspiration, ensure “peace at home and peace abroad”, and preserve a peaceful, stable environment conducive to national building and development.

To fulfil its glorious historical mission requires the Party to continue to promote Party building; step up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, lifestyle to make our Party strong in terms of politics, ideology, morality, and organisation and live forever in the hearts and minds of the people and the country. Success of reform, national construction and defence in the new situation affirms the Party’s prestige, position, competence, spirit, intelligence, and responsibility to the people and nation.