DIVISION OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002134 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON PINR VM SUBJECT: DIVISION OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES STRENGTHENS PM'S HAND...AT LEAST ON PAPER HANOI 00002134 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Michael W. Marine per 1.4 (b),(d) Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. (C) Based on the recent formal division of GVN responsibilities among the Prime Minister and his three Deputy Prime Ministers, PM Nguyen Tan Dzung may be well placed to be a more powerful PM than his predecessor. This is thanks to his direct oversight responsibilities for Vietnam's most powerful ministries, including National Defense, Public Security and Finance, but it remains to be seen to what extent his influence on paper will translate into the real thing. Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, on the other hand, is actually shedding responsibilities, possibly a reflection of lack of confidence in his abilities. End Summary and Comment. How they Stack Up -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The GVN recently made public the division of responsibilities among the Prime Minister and his three Deputy Prime Ministers. Standing Deputy Prime Minister (and former Finance Minister) Nguyen Sinh Hung has been placed in charge of general economic matters and directly oversees the ministries of Trade; Construction; Industry; Post and Telematics; Transportation; Agriculture and Rural Development; Fisheries; Natural Resources and Environment; Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; and Health, as well as the State Bank of Vietnam. ¶3. (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong was named standing chief of the Central Anti-Corruption Committee and is also now responsible for coordination between the Government and the Party Secretariat, as well as relations between the Government and the Supreme People,s Court and the Supreme People,s Procuracy. DPM Trong will also directly supervise the Ministry of Justice and the Government Inspectorate. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem is responsible for diplomacy, international relations, human rights and border issues. ¶4. (SBU) In ascending to the position of Prime Minister, PM Dzung delegated to DPM Hung oversight responsibilities for a number of portfolios he had previously managed, namely general economic matters and the ministries of Industry, Construction and Trade. Dzung also kept for himself oversight of most of the GVN,s key ministries, including Planning and Investment, Finance, National Defense and Public Security. PM Dzung also manages the Office of the Government and the ministries of Internal Affairs; Science and Technology; Education and Training; and, Culture and Information. "PM Dzung More Powerful Than His Predecessor" -------------- ¶5. (C) According to Professor Ngo Van Hoa, an historian with Academy of Social Sciences who also has close ties to a number of Central Committee members, PM Dzung's continued supervision of the ministries of National Defense and Public Security "make him an even stronger Prime Minister, at least on paper, than former PM Khai." Moreover, Standing DPM Hung is considerably weaker than his immediate predecessor, Dzung, "because of his purely economic background," Hoa added. ¶6. (C) Putting DPM Trong in charge of the GVN,s anti-corruption campaign "may, in theory, help to speed up Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts, given his concurrent Party responsibilities as chief of the Internal Affairs Commission,8 Ngo Cuong, Editor-in-Chief of the Supreme People's Court-affiliated Judicial Journal, said. Furthermore, by appointing Trong to take charge of anti-corruption efforts, "the Party is trying to send a clear signal about its commitment to tackle government corruption," Professor Hoa told us. Lack of Confidence in DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem? -------------- ¶7. (C) On the subject of DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem's responsibilities, UNHCR Vietnam Chief of Mission and longtime political observer Vu Anh Son pointed out that Khiem,s responsibilities are actually diminished. "If you look at the most serious social problems in Vietnam now -) health and education )- they were Khiem's previous responsibilities, and their removal from his oversight sends the message that the government has no faith in his HANOI 00002134 002.2 OF 002 abilities," Son suggested. While not commenting on Khiem's capabilities, historian Hoa said that the assignment of the position of Foreign Minister to a Politburo member may reflect the Party's desire to elevate the status of the MFA. Hoa quickly added, however, that no MFA Vice Ministers were elected to serve in the current Central Committee, indicating "the MFA,s continuing weak position within Vietnam's bureaucracy." Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) To what extent PM Dzung's responsibilities for overseeing Vietnam's most powerful ministries will translate into personal power and influence for himself remains to be seen. For example, in the case of the Ministry of Public Security, although the PM technically supervises Minister Le Hong Anh, he is in fact outranked by Anh, who is second only to Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh within the Politburo. On the subject of DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem, adding to his woes may be the assignment of former DPM and foreign affairs expert Vu Khoan to serve as the PM's Special Envoy on foreign affairs, perhaps another sign that Khiem does not inspire confidence in those above him. Based on his poor performance in recent meetings -- such as with PACOM's Admiral William Fallon and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford -- this lack of confidence may be warranted. End Comment. MARINE