Communist Review - Strengthening the close relationship between the Party and the people in the nation’s new era is of great significance. It not only ensures the country's stability and sustainable development, but also contributes to Party building and rectification and to building a clean and strong political system; enhancing the Party’s leadership and governing capacity, as well as its combativeness; improving the State’s management capacity and the effectiveness of national governance; continuously renewing the content and methods of operation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, its member organisations, and enhancing citizens’ sense of responsibility.

Theoretical and practical foundations of the close relationship between the Party and the people

Marxism-Leninism identifies revolution as the cause of the masses and highlights the importance of the relationship between the Party and the people. Lenin pointed out that “living, creative socialism is the product of the masses themselves.”(1) and warned that “one of the greatest and most frightening dangers is to sever ties with the masses.”(2)

Throughout the process of leading the revolution, the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh always recognised deeply the immense role of the people, consistently paying attention to building and consolidating the close relationship between the Party and the people. President Ho Chi Minh affirmed “under the sky, nothing is more precious than the people. In the world, nothing is stronger than the united force of the people.”(3) He advised that “to be detached from the people and not closely connected with them is like hanging suspended in the sky; failure is certain”(4); and that “the experience of making revolution is to remain close to the masses. If one is detached from the masses, one can accomplish nothing.”(5) He further pointed out “only when the broad masses recognise the soundness of the Party’s policies and its leadership capacity can the Party attain its leadership position.”(6)

Regarding the close relationship between the Party and the people, as early as the third National Party Congress in 1960, the Communist Party of Vietnam affirmed that “the strength of the people lies in having a vanguard Party to lead them; the invincible strength of the Party lies in its close ties with the broad masses.”(7) The 13th National Party Congress placed the people at the centre and as the subject of the national development strategy, affirming that “all guidelines and policies must genuinely stem from the needs, aspirations, legitimate rights and interests of the people; strengthening the close relationship with the people, relying on the people to build the Party, and taking the people’s happiness and prosperity as the goal of striving; consolidating and enhancing the people’s trust in the Party, the State and the socialist regime.”(8) The 13th National Party Congress clearly emphasised respect for and promotion of the people’s role as masters under the principle of “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit.” At the same time, it stressed the orientation of “leading the institutionalisation of constitutional provisions on the fundamental rights and obligations of citizens in order to maximise the people’s right to mastery in the process of building, defending and developing the country. Studying and adopting mechanisms for the people to participate in Party building, in building a clean and strong political system, and in building the contingent of cadres. Actively urging, supervising and inspecting the implementation of the Party’s resolutions on mass mobilisation work.”(9)

The relationship between the Party and the people is formed by the objective requirements of the revolutionary cause. This is a highly distinctive relationship. The Party is both the leader and the ruling party, while also serving the people; the people, for their part, consciously support the Party’s leadership while remaining the masters of the country. The Party’s strength lies in its close bond with the people.

Drawing on the patriotic tradition, embracing the theory of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Communist Party of Vietnam has advanced the sound viewpoint that “revolution is the cause of the people, by the people and for the people; the people are the masters, and the people exercise their role as masters of the country.”(10) This viewpoint affirms the position and special importance of the close relationship between the Party and the people. It is through the consistent and profound adherence to this viewpoint that the Party has wisely led the Vietnamese people to overcome all aggressors and attain great achievements of historic significance in the cause of national construction and development.

Context, situation and major solutions for strengthening close relationship between the Party and people in new era

Developments in the global, regional and domestic landscape are intricately linked and have both direct and indirect implications for the relationship between the Party and the people in the new era. The 13th National Party Congress objectively and profoundly forecast international, regional and domestic developments affecting the implementation of its resolutions, including the relationship between the Party and the people.

The world is continuing to witness rapid, complex and unpredictable developments. Peace, cooperation and development remain major trends, yet they face numerous new challenges. Strategic competition among major powers, localised conflicts among some countries that remain intense, prolonged and potentially complicated, together with traditional and non-traditional security issues, have direct and long-term impacts on economic, trade and investment activities, as well as on political orientations, social life and the daily lives of people in many countries. The Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to develop vigorously, exerting profound impacts on all fields and social strata around the world. Scientific and technological advances are making unprecedented breakthroughs, contributing to remarkable achievements in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, blockchain technology, intelligent robots and automation. The trends towards green transition, digital transformation and energy transition are being actively promoted by many countries. The Asia-Pacific region continues to be a dynamic centre of development, while also remaining a focal point of competition among major powers. Territorial, maritime and island sovereignty disputes continue to become increasingly complex.

Challenges arising from climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, including water resources, natural disasters and epidemics affect people’s lives every day and every hour.

The domestic situation presents many fundamental advantages. After 40 years of the Communist Party of Vietnam leading the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, the country has achieved numerous accomplishments and its international standing continues to rise. This was affirmed by General Secretary To Lam in his article “Radiant Vietnam”, in which he noted that Vietnam has become a developing country with middle-income status and has integrated deeply and extensively into world politics, the global economy and human civilisation, while assuming numerous international responsibilities and playing an active role in many international organisations and important multilateral forums. He further emphasised that independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity have been firmly maintained and national interests safeguarded. The size of the economy in 2024 exceeded 470 billion USD, ranking 32nd in the world and placing Vietnam among the top 20 economies in trade and foreign investment attraction. In addition, the people’s living standards have improved markedly, with the poverty rate declining sharply to just 1.93 percent according to the multidimensional poverty standard, compared with 60 percent in 1986. Political, economic, cultural, social, scientific and technological, defence and security capacities have continued to strengthen(11). The revolution in streamlining the organisational apparatus of the political system and restructuring administrative units under the two-tier local government model has initially been implemented effectively.

However, the country still faces difficulties and challenges, as clearly identified by the Party, which noted that “foundational factors such as institutions, infrastructure, high-quality human resources and technology remain fall short of what is required for Vietnam to soon become a modern industrialised country. It also pointed out that social issues continue to exert considerable pressure on socio-economic development, including population ageing and disparities in wealth and levels of development. In addition, natural disasters, epidemics, climate change, sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion are occurring with increasing speed, intensity and unpredictability.”(12)

The above context and situation will directly or indirectly affect the thinking of various social strata, as well as the effectiveness of employment creation, income improvement, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, changes in the labour-force structure, environmental management, sanitation, food safety, education, healthcare services, the maintenance of political security and social order and safety, and efforts to combat distorted narratives about Vietnam’s achievements in democracy, human rights, ethnic affairs and religion aimed at undermining the close relationship between the Party and the people and sowing division within the great national solidarity.

The new era presents new requirements and tasks, requiring comprehensive solutions for strengthening the close relationship between the Party and the people. Several major solutions need to be implemented in a coordinated manner as follows:

First, strengthening the Party’s leadership over the political system and society as a whole in order to build and firmly consolidate the close relationship between the Party and the people.

The Party should continue to lead the State in promptly institutionalising and concretising the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines on promoting the people’s right to exercise mastery and the strength of the great national solidarity; first and foremost through policies that implement the mechanism of “the Party leads, the State manages, and the people are the masters” and the principle of “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit”. Plans and measures should be adopted to effectively carry out information, communication and education activities to raise people’s legal awareness, while ensuring the effective implementation of laws directly related to citizens, such as the Labour Code, the Law on the Implementation of Grassroots Democracy, the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints, and the Law on Denunciations. Regular citizen reception sessions should be organised, dialogues with citizens conducted, and legitimate and lawful proposals and recommendations from citizens addressed promptly and in accordance with the law, preventing the emergence of “hotspots”, complicated, large-scale complaints and petitions that could undermine security, social order and safety.

Party committees at all levels should strengthen leadership, inspection and supervision over the implementation of the Party’s resolutions, decisions and regulations concerning Party building and rectification; particularly those relating to things that Party members are prohibited from doing, responsibilities for setting a good example, adherence to the principle of democratic centralism, self-criticism and criticism, and the building of the great national solidarity, thereby bringing about genuine changes in the awareness, sense of responsibility, and actions of cadres and Party members, especially key officials and leaders, in fulfilling their responsibilities to the Party and the people.

Through regular inspection and supervision, difficulties and obstacles arising in the implementation of the Party’s guidelines and policies should be identified early so that they can be promptly resolved at the grassroots level. Organisations and individuals with outstanding achievements should be commended and rewarded in a timely manner, while criticism and disciplinary measures should be applied to those that fail to implement, or ineffectively implement, the Party’s resolutions, decisions and regulations.

Party committees at all levels should strengthen the education and training of cadres and Party members, especially key officials and leaders at all levels and sectors, so that they lead exemplary lives, act responsibly towards the people, and “match their words with their actions”, thereby earning the people’s trust and serving as examples for them to follow. Efforts to promote the campaign on “Studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style” should continue, creating positive transformation among cadres and Party members in adopting working styles that are “close to the grassroots” and “close to the masses”, maintaining a clean and upright lifestyle; demonstrating dedication and responsibility in their work; and promptly grasping, participating in, and helping to resolve, in accordance with the law, the legitimate proposals and recommendations of the people.

The Party’s methods of leadership over mass mobilisation work should continue to be renewed in line with the socialist orientation and international integration. On the basis of closely assessing and forecasting international and domestic developments, particularly issues of concern to the people and matters relating to their lawful and legitimate rights and interests, appropriate directions and sets of solutions for leading mass mobilisation work should be identified. Attention should be paid to building and consolidating organisations, institutional structures and contingents of officials engaged in advisory and direct mass mobilisation work. At the same time, the Party should lead the supplementation of Party documents and State legislation in order to promote the role, initiative and proactiveness of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations in carrying out their assigned tasks, especially in communication and mobilisation among members and the people.

Second, strengthening State management and administration in building the close relationship between the Party and the people.

The Party’s guidelines, policies, viewpoints and resolutions on mass mobilisation work should be promptly institutionalised and concretised into policies, laws, programmes, projects and plans for implementation. Continued assessment should be made of the institutionalisation of the five viewpoints set out in Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW, dated June 3, 2013, of the seventh plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee, on “strengthening and renewing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilisation work in the new situation”, as well as the mechanism “the Party leads, the State manages, and the people are the masters” and the principle “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit,” so that they can be effectively implemented by the entire population.

Further efforts are needed to concretise Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022, of the fifth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, on “agriculture, farmers and rural areas to 2030, with a vision to 2045”; Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022, of the fifth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, on “continuing to renew, develop and improve the effectiveness of the collective economy in the new period”; Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW, dated November 24, 2023, of the eighth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, on “continuing to promote the tradition and strength of the great national solidarity and building an increasingly prosperous and happy country”; and the Politburo’s Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, dated May 4, 2025, on “private sector development”. The State is required to continue institutionalising the resolutions into policies and laws for implementation by the entire Party and people.

The Government and authorities at all levels should mobilise all available resources to direct and effectively implement policies and documents of the Party, National Assembly and People’s Councils. Adequate resources must be ensured to improve the pace and quality of growth, promote rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, and strengthen national defence, security and foreign affairs capacity. On that basis, the material and spiritual well-being of all strata of the population should be continuously improved. This is the most important solution for consolidating and strengthening the close relationship between the Party and the people.

State agencies at all levels should continue to promote the people’s right to mastery and practise democracy broadly, particularly direct democracy. Promoting the people’s right to mastery helps foster social consensus, strengthen the great national solidarity, and better mobilise resources from all sections of society to advance the national renewal process. State agencies must promptly and lawfully address citizens’ legitimate proposals and recommendations. However, the practice of democracy must always be associated with the “rule of law”, while upholding social discipline and order; resolutely combating the abuse of democratic freedoms and distortions on the country’s democratic achievements aimed at undermining the Party and the State and dividing the great national solidarity.

Since the beginning of 2025, the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat and Party General Secretary To Lam have attached great importance to leading the streamlining of the organisational apparatus of the political system, reducing intermediary layers while ensuring effective social management, development facilitation, and public service delivery. In particular, from July 1, 2025, the two-tier local government model officially came into operation nationwide. On that basis, efforts should continue to reorganise and consolidate the organisational structure of the political system towards greater streamlining, effectiveness, and efficiency, while accelerating administrative reform, building a digital government, handling citizens’ affairs promptly, and implementing grassroots democracy in accordance with the law. Economic development must be closely linked with social welfare, environmental protection and the preservation of ecosystems to ensure sustainability.

The Party, administration and political system should be built into clean and strong institutions by relying on the people. The people’s right to mastery should be promoted, and their opinions, initiatives and contributions respected before the issuance and during the implementation of policies, laws and regulations. Mechanisms should continue to be supplemented to enable the people to participate in supervising the implementation of major programmes and projects closely related to their livelihoods and employment. Favourable conditions should be created for the people to monitor and provide feedback on cadres and Party members, particularly in the fight against corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena, as well as in the practice of thrift. 

Third, strengthening the responsibilities of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations in building the close relationship between the Party and the people.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations should continue to renew their content and methods of operation. The new era requires the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organisations at all levels to operate under new organisational models and in accordance with recently issued directives, instructions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat, such as Directive No. 48-CT/TW, dated June 24, 2025, of the Party Central Committee, on “leading the Congresses of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organisations at all levels towards the National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front for the 2026–2031 term”; Regulation No. 301-QD/TW, dated June 9, 2025, of the Party Secretariat, on “the functions, tasks and organisational structure of the Vietnam Fatherland Front agencies at provincial and communal levels”. Mass organisations should continue to effectively fulfil their role as representatives responsible for safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of their members. They should focus their activities at the grassroots level and diversify methods of mobilisation and rallying people from all social strata in ways appropriate to education levels and the specific conditions of each region, area and locality. Efforts should be strengthened to disseminate resolutions and regulations of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat that are relevant to the people, while effectively performing the functions of social supervision and public feedback, and participating in building a clean and strong Party and government. Members and citizens should be encouraged to participate in patriotic emulation movements and campaigns, mobilising all resources for socio-economic development and contributing to improving the material and spiritual life of the people.

A contingent of officials of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organisations should be built to meet new requirements and tasks, comprising cadres who are “close to the people, understand the people, learn from the people, respect the people and are responsible to the people”; who can “listen to the people, speak in ways the people understand, and act in ways that earn the people’s trust”; and who are truly “public servants of the people”. The contingent of officials engaged in mass mobilisation work should be consolidated and further trained in political theory, practical understanding, professional expertise and skills in organising and mobilising the masses, thereby meeting the requirements of the new organisational model established through the revolution in streamlining the political system’s apparatus to ensure effective and efficient operation under the Party’s leadership. Mass mobilisation officials must closely monitor public opinion, synthesise issues of concern to the people and matters relating to their legitimate rights and interests, particularly the people’s legitimate proposals and recommendations, in order to advise Party committees and authorities on timely solutions, preventing the emergence of complicated complaints or “hotspots”.

Following the reorganisation and consolidation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organisations under the new model, a high level of consensus must be achieved, together with the establishment of close coordination mechanisms to ensure the best fulfilment of political tasks in the new period.

Fourth, strengthening the people’s responsibility in building the close relationship between the people and the Party.

To fully promote their right to mastery, citizens should regularly contribute constructive opinions on the Party’s leadership and the State’s management for the benefit of the Fatherland.

Citizens and voters have the responsibility to provide feedback to the Party and the State regarding policies, laws and regulations; to express their views on the activities of the National Assembly, People’s Councils, People’s Committees and elected representatives they have elected; to provide  comments on major programmes, schemes and projects affecting people’s lives; and to supervise the implementation of such programmes and projects, as well as the qualities, ethics and lifestyles of cadres and Party members in accordance with Party and State regulations.

Citizens must strictly comply with and implement State policies and laws and fulfil their civic obligations through concrete actions and behaviour, such as observing traffic regulations, protecting the environment, safeguarding security and public order, and preventing and fighting fires and explosions. All citizens are equal before the law. In addition to voluntary compliance, every citizen has the responsibility to encourage family members and members of the community to do likewise; to participate in maintaining security and public order; to help foster a new, civilised way of life within residential communities; and to comply with community regulations and conventions for the common good.

Citizens’ duties and obligations in labour, production and business activities should be strengthened in order to improve the material and spiritual well-being of families and communities and contribute to the State budget. Rapid and sustainable socio-economic development depends on the efforts of citizens through production and business activities of enterprises, cooperatives, household businesses and other economic entities.

As the Party advances the restructuring of the organisational apparatus of the political system towards being streamlined, lean, strong, with high performance, effectiveness, and efficiency, every citizen, agency, and organisation should uphold their responsibility to support, contribute to, and build a clean and strong Party and State./.

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* Consultant, Central Theoretical Council

(1) V.I. Lenin, Complete works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005, Vol. 35, p. 64.

(2) V.I. Lenin, Complete works, ibid., Vol. 44, p. 426.

(3) Ho Chi Minh, Complete works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, Vol. 10, p. 453.

(4) Ho Chi Minh, Complete works, ibid., Vol. 5, p. 326.

(5) Ho Chi Minh, Complete works, ibid., Vol. 12, p. 634.

(6) Ho Chi Minh, Complete works, ibid., Vol. 3, p. 168.

(7) Complete Party Documents, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, Vol. 21, p. 695.

(8) Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2021, Vol. I, pp. 96-97.

(9) Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, ibid., Vol. II, p. 249.

(10) Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW dated June 3, 2013, of the Seventh Plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee, on “strengthening and renewing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilisation work in the new situation”.

(11) Prof. Dr. To Lam, “Radiant Vietnam”, Communist Review, No. 1,055 (February 2025), pp. 5-6.

(12) Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, ibid., Vol. II, pp. 92-93.