Communist Review - Summarizing is a task of enormous importance, not only to objectively evaluate what has been done, but also to draw valuable lessons to guide practice and supplement and develop theory. After each tenure, the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) has reached a new stage in its theoretical development, including the theory of Party building work, on the basis of promoting practical review and theoretical research, applying into practice to test new perceptions, refute false ones, and eliminate outdated ones that have been surpassed by practice.

The 13^th Congress of the CPV is tasked with summarizing 35 years of Doi moi, looking back at 30 years implementing the Platform for National Construction during the Transition Period to Socialism (1991), and 10 years implementing the 2011 Platform (supplementation, development), and evaluating 5 years implementing the Resolution of the 12^th National Congress to determine the vision to 2045 (the 100^th founding anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam), development goals to 2030 (the 100^th founding anniversary of the CPV), development goals, directions and tasks until 2025. Understanding and acknowledging the country's achievements of historical significance over the past 35 years of renovation and the 12^th Tenure manifests the success in Party building and rectification work.

Successes in the Party building and rectification work for the 12th National Tenure need summarizing for theoretical supplementation and development. Doing this job well not only explains the root cause of all achievements, but also clarifies the relationship between the Party building and rectification work and the overall development of all aspects of socio-economic life. The following issues should be focused on in the promotion of summarizing:

1- Emphasizing the "key" position, the special importance of Party building work in all aspects of revolutionary work and all achievements of the 12^th Tenure

From summarizing practice and theoretical research, the CPV has successfully constructed the guiding ideology of Doi moi: Party building as the key; socio-economic development as the centerpiece, cultural and human development as the spiritual foundation; and enhanced national defense and security as a vital and constant task.

Party building has been identified as a "key" task since it holds an extremely important position, deciding the success or failure of the Vietnamese revolution, the survival of the socialist regime, and the accomplishment of all political tasks. The CPV is the ruling Party, leading the State and society. All successes of the Vietnamese revolutionary cause are originated from the leading role of the CPV, from the attention paid to Party building, especially setting forth the clear and wise guidelines as well as building a contingent of cadres on a par with task requirements. On the contrary, mistakes and shortcomings all stem from the lack of attention to the work of Party building and from underestimating the CPV’s role. Practice has shown that the implementation of political tasks with outstanding results and high efficiency always correlates positively with the level of awareness and attention regarding Party building. Whenever and wherever Party building is overlooked, sooner or later, mistakes and shortcomings will be revealed, including those standing no chance of being corrected and overcome. The violations of organizations and individuals that have been discovered and handled over the past time are all resulted from disregarding Party building, ignoring the collective’s leading role, and violating the principle of democratic centralism.

Being well aware of such "key" position and special importance of Party building and rectification in the national comprehensive reform, during the 12^th Tenure, the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPV and Party Committees at all levels have focused on leading and directing the comprehensive construction and rectification of the Party, with the main focus laid on key stages to ensure and strengthen the Party’s leadership. Looking back on the entire tenure, it can be observed that the promotion of Party building and rectification has boosted the development of other fields, which is expected and acknowledged by cadres, party members and people. In particular, formulating the monthly working mechanism of key leaders and renewing the leadership method and working style of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPV and Party committees at all levels have directly improved the leading and ruling capacity of the CPV. As a result, all political decisions of the CPV have been institutionalized in a timely and inclusive manner, which has in turn improved efficiency in implementing, ensured the absolute and direct leadership of the CPV over the armed forces, strengthened and enhanced leadership effectiveness in foreign affairs, international integration, economic, cultural and social development. An important highlight of the tenure is the unity within the Party. The solidarity in the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and Party committees at all levels has been taken as the core, strengthening the close relationship between the people and the Party and State, and consolidating the great national unity bloc.

The vital importance of the Party building work during the tenure has also reflected in its ability to generate breakthroughs, paving the way to solve difficult, complex and sensitive issues. The personnel work has been renewed; the cadre contingent especially strategic ones has been carefully trained and chosen, highlighting the work’s "key of the key" position and contributing to the successful task implementation of all levels, branches, organizations, agencies and units. The improved Party inspection and supervision has promoted innovation and increased inspection, audit, investigation, prosecution and trial to tighten discipline. Exemplifying and fighting against negativity, bureaucracy and corruption have been focused, promoting public service and business integrity as well as strengthening people's confidence in the CPV, the State and the socialist regime. Anti-corruption without restrictions and exceptions has created a healthy environment for businesses to invest and operate, warned and deterred "interest groups" against making use of policies and advantages in accessing development resources, causing injustice in the allocation of social resources.

The above facts have left the CPV with valuable lessons and experiences on Party building, especially the "key" role of Party building in the national comprehensive reform. The more synchronous and comprehensive renovation becomes, the more attention should be paid to the Party building work with care from the Central Committee to each cell, from the head of the Party to each member. Building a clean and strong Party, which serves as the basis for the successful implementation of all political tasks, must always be attached great importance to, without being ignored or underestimated.

2- Clarifying the centrality and focus while carrying out comprehensive Party building

The 12^th National Congress of the CPV, while defining specific and comprehensive tasks(1) of the Party building work, pointed out the key tasks as: preventing and repelling ideological, political, ethical and lifestyle deterioration, "self-evolution" and "self-transformation"; focusing on building a contingent of cadres, especially those at the strategic level, who are capable, qualified, reputable, and on a par with their duties; building a lean and efficient apparatus of the entire political system; stepping up the fight against corruption, wastefulness and bureaucracy(2).

Comprehensiveness requires the Party building work to cover all aspects equally. This is because each aspect of the work has its own role and position, has a dialectical relationship with the others to generate strength to improve the overall efficiency. One aspect being left unfocused will affect the others and the overall result. Moreover, it is on the basis of carrying out comprehensive Party building that the main aspects and essential relationships are discovered so as for the Party to focus on leading, directing and prioritizing resources for resolution. Comprehensiveness is different from eclecticism, which means a combination of various aspects which are however forced to form one single piece mechanically. It is therefore unable to reveal the core aspect and fundamental issues. Comprehensiveness is also the opposite of onesidedness, which only shows a certain aspect, usually a secondary one. Onesidedness does not facilitate the identification of all aspects in a common relationship; hence, one when dealing with problems in practice often falls into subjectivity and does not achieve the desired results.

The work of Party building and rectification during the 12^th Tenure has shown its comprehensiveness and focused on key tasks with high political determination, great efforts and drastic actions. The key Party building and rectification tasks have concentrated on solving both fundamental and urgent problems and have achieved clear results and created breakthroughs in various fields. The consolidation and strengthening of internal unity, political courage, and reform of the leadership method of the CPV are the basis for improving the comprehensive leadership capacity of the CPV, especially in dealing with difficult and complicated issues in foreign and domestic affairs. Preventing and repelling the deterioration of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle in association with promoting learning and following President Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and style, self-criticism and self-criticism all have a massive impact on correcting perspective distortions, indulgence in lifestyle, and moral degradation among a part of cadres and party members. The work of Party building on ethics during the 12^th Tenure has been considered a supplement and development of President Ho Chi Minh’s theory of "Our Party is moral and civilized". This when combined with strengthening Party discipline and State laws has created an integrated effect in educating and training cadres and party members. Preventing "self-evolution", "self-transformation" and fighting against wrong and hostile views according to the Politburo’s Resolution No. 35-NQ/TW, dated October 22 2018 on "strengthening the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, and the fight against the wrong and hostile views in the new situation" has been drastically implemented, contributing to protecting the Party's ideology and guidelines and creating ideological unity throughout the CPV. Renovating and rectifying the organization and personnel work has enabled the restoration of discipline, effectively overcoming the situation of "jockeying for position and power", streamlining the apparatus and staff, creating a healthy environment for cadres to strive, devote, develop, contributing to improving the overall operational efficiency of the whole political system. The contingent of strategic cadres has been given special attention and carefully built, creating positive changes and promoting the key task of Party building. The work of inspection, supervision, inspection, audit, investigation, prosecution, trial, handling of corruption and waste has been directed harshly, synchronously and effectively, strengthening the CPV’s discipline and the socialist rule of law. The fight against corruption has been carried out with great political determination and achieved a multitude of important and outstanding results, contributing to building the Communist Party and a clean political system, providing a warning to those who disregard discipline and laws, strengthening and bolstering the people's confidence in the Party and the socialist regime.

Those aforementioned facts remind members of the CPV that it is of necessity to constantly focus on building a comprehensively strong Party by methodical, scientific method and with a clear focal point, appropriate steps and procedures. Eclecticism must be prevented; the main content, key tasks, path-breaking stages should be clearly defined; resources should be utilized effectively. At the same time, it is essential to fight unilateralism in Party building work, which only sees and deals with one single side or even a minor aspect. This helps Party committees to well define the nature of any problems, avoid formalism and achieve all desired outcomes.

3- Summarizing major relationships reflecting regular issues of Party building work

From the practical analysis of the Party building work in recent tenures, especially the 12th, it is vital to deepen major relationships that reflect regular issues of Party building, including those as follow:

Firstly, the relationship between being steadfast in our stance, principles, and innovation.

The success of Party building during the tenure has been resulted from one fundamental reason, which is the delicate handling of the relationship between consistency and innovation. The CPV always consistently affirms the guideline of promoting comprehensive and synchronous innovation, on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought, the goal of national independence associated with socialism, and the principles of innovation. To be steadfast is to hold firmly to the stance and principles, without being affected in any circumstances, to ensure that renovation runs in the right direction with appropriate and steady approaches. Being steadfast in stance and principles always encourages exploration and innovation. Exploration and innovation always require firm stance and principles in order to build a solid ideological foundation and to decide the right direction for the good goals in the future. Therefore, steadfast stance and principles must be associated with anti-conservative and stagnation; exploration and innovation must go hand in hand with fighting political opportunism of all kinds.

Secondly, the relationship between centralization and democracy, the more widespread democracy is promoted, the more centralization is strengthened.

During the 12^th Tenure, the CPV has made important progresses in concretizing and institutionalizing the principle of democratic centralism, especially on a number of key issues, such as collective leadership and individual responsibility, the centralized leadership of the Central Committee and active role of Party committees and organizations at all levels, etc. Successfully handling difficult, complex and sensitive issues, such as anti-corruption, discipline tightening, fighting against jockeying for position and power, strengthening inspection and supervision etc., all originate from the centralized leadership and direction of the Central Committee with high political determination, great efforts, and drastic actions, from ensuring collective leadership and upholding individual responsibility. It is through the promotion of democracy that the positivity, roles and responsibilities of party members in Party building are enhanced. Additionally, when centralization is enhanced, it ensures the unity of thought and action, tightens discipline, mobilizes and distributes, and effectively utilizes resources. Such reality affirms that centralization and democracy are two sides of one single issue of a dialectical relationship. Centralization does not contradict democracy, but dispersion, arbitrary, anarchy; Democracy does not contradict centralization, but authoritarianism and autocracy. The more widespread democracy is promoted, the more centralization is strengthened. Centralization in leadership and direction ensure the promotion of substantive democracy and the elimination of formal or arbitrary democracy, disorganization, extreme democracy.

Thirdly, the relationship between strengthening the role of collective leadership and promoting individual responsibility.

To carry out the tasks and solutions proposed by the 12^th Tenure, the CPV has made various efforts to concretize and institutionalize the principle of collective leadership and individual responsibility, which is most evident in the Party Election Regulations, the 5-step personnel work process, the working regulations of Party committees at all levels. This has been done in association with perfecting the standard procedure of cadre evaluation, collective and individual responsibility review, criticism and self-criticism, and vote of confidence. The Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPV have pioneered in renewing leadership methods and working styles to effectively promote the role of collective leadership system and highlight individual responsibility of leaders. This is also the first time the Model Working Regulation of provincial and central party committees has been promulgated, clearly defining the authority and responsibility of collectives and individuals in leadership and direction. Those important innovations have not only promoted collective leadership, controlled individual power, limited power abuse, but also upheld individual responsibility to participate in collective discussion and decision making. Violations of previous tenures that have recently been handled all have one fundamental shortcoming: relaxing the role of collective leadership, disrespecting principles and working regulations, and abusing power in decision making. Therefore, carefully handling the relationship between strengthening the role of collective leadership and promoting individual responsibility is a great lesson learned from recent tenures. Collective leadership being underestimated will not only fail to promote collective intelligence, but also weaken the mechanism of collective power control over individuals. On the contrary, individual responsibility being underestimated will give rise to an environment in which collective reliance is nurtured, and it is unable to locate responsibilities to individuals in case of a defect or mistake.

Fourthly, the relationship between consolidating and strengthening Party unity and solidarity and promoting self-criticism and criticism, fighting against the wrong, and defending the right.

Unity is an extremely precious tradition and a fundamental principle in the organization and operation of the CPV. When there is unity, millions of people are like one, united with common interests, thought and action, forming a great power to win all victories. During the 12^th Tenure, unity and solidarity were first formed among key leaders, Politburo members, members of the Secretariat, members of the Central Committee, and members of all-level Party committees. This is the basis for the successful implementation of all tasks, including difficult and complex ones. It has been the fact that in order to have real unity, it is required to strictly practice self-criticism and criticism, bravely fight against the wrong, defend the right, forming a unified collective operating on the overall sense of responsibility for common interests. Self-criticism and criticism not only strengthen unity, but also enable each collective and individual to face their own shortcomings, to express their attitudes to those of others. In all revolutionary tasks of the CPV, there have been always pioneers, the neutral, and the non-progressive. Self-criticism and criticism, fighting against the wrong, and defending the right allow the pioneers to exert their pervasive influence, attract and transform the others. As a result, positive and progressive values are further promoted, contributing to building up the basis for the promotion of solidarity and unity of will and action.

Fifthly, the relationship between tightening discipline and encouraging the spirit of dynamism, creativity, daring to think, daring to do and daring to renovate for the common good.

The CPV is a revolutionary party, of which strength is based on strict discipline. The party constantly encourages exploration, innovation, dynamism and creativity. In such context of recession and increasing "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the party, which affects the Party’s prestige, leadership capacity, and fighting strength and threatens its survival, tightening discipline is an urgent requirement in Party building and rectification. Tightening discipline has been carried out comprehensively and synchronously, focusing on such key points as: discipline in speaking and writing in accordance with the Platform and guidelines of the CPV; fighting against “jockeying for position and power”; detecting and handling violations; anti-corruption... While the whole party tightens discipline within its organization, there exist here and there party members disclaiming responsibility, destroying innovation and creativity, and causing stagnation. Therefore, tightening discipline and encouraging the spirit of dynamism, creativity, daring to think, daring to do for the common good are two sides of the same issue that need to be understood and handled thoroughly. Tightening discipline is not equal to stifling creativity, but to creating a healthy environment for all innovative thinking, allowing people to dare to think, dare to do, dare to renovate. Dynamism, creativity, and renovation for the common good always require discipline, not only to encourage the new, protect the right, inspire innovations with pure motives for the common good but also to point out the wrong, handle violations. Taking advantage of "innovation" and "breakthrough" for personal interest, violation of principles and discipline has always been prohibited. It has been shown in the history of the CPV in the early Doi moi period that many high-ranking comrades bravely generated breakthroughs, criticized the subsidy mechanism while its institutional protection still existed. Innovative ideas empowered by such pure motives as for the Party revolutionary cause, for the sake of the Vietnamese people and nation can all be strongly persuasive to collectives and individuals, being accepted and protected for deployment and implementation in practice.

Sixthly, the relationship between Party building and Party rectification.

During 12^th Tenure, Party building and rectification has been carried out simultaneously and synchronously. The focus of Party rectification is emerging important and urgent issues such as preventing the deterioration of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, "self-evolution", "self-transformation”; tightening discipline, controlling power in personnel work, fighting against "jockeying for position and power"; rearranging and streamlining the organizational apparatus; promoting self-criticism and criticism in association with exercising exemplary responsibility, fighting against corruption, bureaucracy and wastefulness. Well handling the relationship between Party building and Party rectification has brought about important results in the Party building work, especially breakthroughs in difficult, complex and sensitive issues, which have been carried out for past tenure with limited results.

Experience has shown that Party building must always be considered a fundamental and regular job; Party rectification is urgently required when special situations demands special solutions. Rectifying does not have an objective in itself, but aims to build a clean and strong Party. In favorable conditions, the Party must be rectified to avoid subjective thoughts, complacency as in the words of General Secretary of the CPV, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong. At times of difficulties, Party rectification is even further mandatory in order to strengthen its contingent of cadres, tighten discipline, and allow the revolution to overcome difficulties and move forward. Party building and rectification must always adhere to principles and reality. It also must be done in a scientific way so as to avoid causing organizational disorder or creating conditions for outsiders to take advantage of internal division and destabilize the regime.

*    *    *

Upholding the achievements in the Party building and rectification work in previous terms, the work during the 12^th Tenure has been carried out comprehensively, with particular focuses and extremely important outcomes. Such successes are due to not only the high political determination and conscious policies, but also to the systematic implementation, which demonstrates the science and art of leadership of the CPV. Promoting the summarizing of Party building and rectification during the 12^th Tenure will allow party leaders of all levels to draw valuable lessons, which contribute to guiding practice, supplementing and developing the theory of Party building in the new period./.

------------------

(1) The comprehensive tasks of Party building include: attaching importance to Party building in politics; renovating ideological and theoretical work; strengthening the training of revolutionary moral qualities, fighting against individualism, opportunism and pragmatism; renovating and perfecting the organization of the Party's apparatus and the political system; improving the quality and operational efficiency of grassroots party organizations and improving the quality of party members; strongly renovating personnel work, attaching importance to the protection of internal politics; renewing and improving the efficiency of Party inspection, supervision and discipline; continuing to renew and improve the efficiency of mass mobilization; strengthening the close relationship between the Party and the Vietnamese people; stepping up the fight against corruption and wastefulness; and renovating the leadership method of the CPV.

(2) Communist Party of Viet Nam: Documents of the 12^th National Congress, Office of the Party Central Committee, Hanoi, 2016, p. 217

This article was published in the Communist Review, No. 955 (December 2020)