Vietnam Communist Party ends congress in swirl of consensus

"Let me be very frank. I didn't expect to be introduced and elected," General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (pronounced Noo-yen Foo Chong) told reporters. "I was re-elected as general secretary with almost 100 percent of votes. And I am very surprised by that. Because I am quite old. I am the oldest member in the leadership of Vietnam. I myself asked to be retired but due to responsibility tasked on me by the party I had to accept."

Trong said there is "a lot of work ahead of us."

"The responsibility is enormous. And in the current domestic and international context, there are a lot of opportunities and challenges," he said.

The five-yearly congress, normally considered a dull affair, had stirred rare public excitement about politics due to the prospect of a leadership challenge from pro-business premier Nguyen Tan Dung, whom the politburo overlooked in its nominations for key posts. Despite speculation of a tense showdown, Dung chose not to contest.

Trong was the politburo's sole candidate for party chief, clipping the wings of Dung, 66, who had garnered broad party support and cultivated an image as a progressive with his decisive running of a fast-growing economy.

Analysts regard Trong as a party stalwart keen to uphold a collective rule that Dung's ambition and popularity among businessmen could have tested.

Resentment still festers among Dung's party opponents over crises in the banking and state sectors under his two-term premiership, experts say.

Political analyst Nguyen Quang A said Dung's politburo exit was due to personality clashes and the party's consensus rule may not be an impediment as private business booms and the country seeks to integrate globally.

"There are forces outside of the Communist Party that will lead the progress of the country," he said. "Trong is no strongman, he won't overrule the collective decisions. We can see a lot of younger, Western-educated people now on the party's central committee."

Trong is expected to continue to push Dung's economic reforms. Despite having a reputation for being pro-China he is not likely to be totally subservient to Beijing as that would risk massive anger from ordinary Vietnamese who harbor a deep dislike and historical suspicion of China.

"Many people were afraid that a conservative trend would prevail if Mr. Trong is re-elected. But ... whoever they may be, and however conservative they may be, when they are at the helm they are under pressure to carry out reforms," Le Hong Hiep, a visiting Vietnamese fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore.

Wire services