Speech by General Secretary To Lam at the 1st Congress of Delegates of the Central Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations

On the morning of September 23, in Hanoi, the 1st Congress of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations, term 2025 - 2030, solemnly opened, with the participation of 346 official delegates representing more than 5,000 party members of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations.

General Secretary To Lam delivers a speech at the Congress. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

General Secretary To Lam attended and delivered a speech at the Congress. Vietnam News Agency (VNA) respectfully introduces the General Secretary's speech:

“- Dear Presidium of the Congress,

- Dear delegates,

- Dear delegates and guests.

Today, I am very pleased to attend the first Congress of the Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations after we restructured the organization and established the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations. This is a special political event: the first congress of a new model, representing the great national solidarity bloc in the context of the entire political system being strongly transformed in the spirit of Resolution 18, streamlining the apparatus in the political system to be streamlined, operating effectively and efficiently.

The Congress decided on the direction to gather and promote the strength of great national unity to implement the Party's leadership, making the country strong and prosperous, for the happy and prosperous life of the people.

First of all, I would like to respectfully send to the delegates, distinguished guests and the entire Congress my warm greetings, kind regards and best wishes. I wish the 346 official delegates from 25 affiliated party organizations, the elected excellent party members, representing intelligence, faith, unity of will, action, determination, aspiration to rise up and strength of solidarity, representing more than 5,000 party members in the entire Party Committee attending the Congress to successfully fulfill their tasks and responsibilities as Party members in the Congress. I wish the Congress great success.

Dear comrades,

The Front is the People. The Front is the broadest gathering place of the masses - workers, farmers, women, the elderly, youth, teenagers, children, veterans; people of all ethnic groups and religions; intellectuals, businessmen, artists; Vietnamese people abroad. The strength of the Front is the strength of the people. The tradition of the Front is solidarity. Unity to build the country, defend the country, develop the country; unity to stabilize society, improve people's lives, and achieve the great goals of the nation.

We enter the 2025 - 2030 term with new requirements: synchronous organizational restructuring associated with innovation in operating methods; restructuring the socio-economic development space by "rearranging the country" through the geographical division of provincial and communal levels with a 3-level government model; shifting from "right direction" to "right and sufficient results", measurable, verifiable, the achievements are not only felt but must enter the material and spiritual life, social activities of each street, hamlet, village, into each family, into each individual. Ahead, we carry on our shoulders two 100-year goals of the nation, in which the spirit of the Draft Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Party, the Draft Resolution of the 1st term of the Fatherland Front and the Action Program that the Congress discussed and decided will be the "foundation", the "red thread" throughout the term. The core issue is “what goals to set” and “who will do it, how much, when will it be finished, how will it be measured, and what will be the results”.

Before the Congress of comrades, the Politburo worked with the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front on tasks related to the organization of the first term Congress. The Politburo acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and central organizations in leading and directing the organization of congresses of party delegates at all levels in the Front bloc and preparing contents to serve the organization of the first Congress of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front. The work of preparing draft documents and personnel plans was carried out carefully, seriously, meticulously and scientifically, ensuring compliance with the regulations and instructions of the Central Committee. The content of the documents basically adhered to the major ideas and viewpoints in the draft documents of the 14th Party Congress and the practical situation of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front. The basic personnel plan ensured the structure, quantity, standards and conditions according to regulations and the situation and characteristics of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front.

The limitations in the last Congress term were also seriously reviewed by comrades with the spirit of party members and the spirit of seeking knowledge. The Politburo also agreed to assess: The content and methods of gathering people from all walks of life sometimes did not meet practical requirements. Some patriotic emulation movements and campaigns in some places were not very effective; the work of supervision and social criticism, and giving suggestions for Party and government building in some places was still confusing; people's foreign affairs activities were not commensurate with the potential and position of the Front. The transformation of the party organization model was still new, so some party committees were still confused in operation. Some party organizations were still not proactive in concretizing resolutions, implementing work programs in a timely manner, and not keeping up with the direction of digital transformation. Party cell and party committee activities in some places were still formal, and the content was not close to the political tasks and the characteristics of the agency or organization. The work of developing party members was still difficult. Self-criticism and criticism in evaluating party organizations and party members are still lenient, and the fighting spirit is not high. Some party organizations have not implemented comprehensive inspection and supervision work, lacking focus and key points; prevention and detection of violations are not timely, and some party organizations still have a situation of prolonged complaints and petitions. Mass mobilization work and leadership of political-social organizations and mass associations assigned by the Party and the State in some agencies and organizations are still formal. The application of information technology in direction, operation and party activities is still limited, not meeting the requirements of digital transformation and modernization in the leadership and direction of the Party...

The task of the comrades in the Congress is to study, discuss, debate in a truly democratic, scientific, objective, and courageous manner to reach a consensus. We must strongly demonstrate the spirit of criticism and self-criticism, and clearly express the viewpoints of Party members and Party Cells in contributing ideas to the documents to make the Congress documents practical, feasible, specific, combative, and popular...

I propose that we consistently adopt Three Guiding Viewpoints:

1- Taking the people as the center, subject, goal and driving force of innovation. Every resolution and action program must answer: what are the practical benefits for the people, for each vulnerable group, for each specific community.

2- Combining democracy - discipline - rule of law. Expanding democracy at the grassroots level, promoting social dialogue, along with enforcement discipline, rule of law, and respect for differences.

3- Shift from formal movements to substantive results, based on data and figures; prioritize models that can be quickly replicated, have reasonable costs, have a great impact on life, and bring practical benefits to people.

I suggest that you focus on implementing 6 key points:

First, perfect the organization and coordination mechanism: "one task, one focal point, one deadline, one result". Complete the Regulations on coordination of work between 25 Party organizations under the Party Committee of the Front. It is necessary to decentralize and delegate powers clearly; prevent overlap. Eliminate administrativeization of the Front organization; maintain the operating principles of the political system as stipulated in legal documents, in the Party charter and related regulations.

Second, Consolidate and expand the great national solidarity bloc "leaving no one behind". Design a multi-layered, multi-channel representative and participation network for new-generation workers, farmers, youth on digital platforms, women, the disadvantaged, religious and ethnic compatriots; promote religious solidarity; national solidarity; all ethnic groups are "children of the Dragon and Fairy", brothers and sisters of the same mother and father. Deploy the "Digital Front Portal" to receive petitions 24/7; Organize "Month of listening to people speak" at all levels and regions; establish an interactive map of people's livelihood issues. Promote the precious characteristic of Vietnam that there are no religious and ethnic conflicts to develop great solidarity blocs; consolidate the culture of tolerance, harmony and consensus, turn differences into characteristics, into resources for national development.

Third, take care of people's lives with 6 key areas of people's livelihood and assign primary responsibilities to each organization: (1) Employment - wages - labor safety (Union); (2) Green rural livelihood - digital agriculture - value chain (Farmers' Association); (3) Family security - gender equality - violence prevention (Women's Union); (4) Youth start-up - digital skills - community volunteering (Youth Union); (5) Gratitude - community order and discipline (Veterans, Former People's Police). Establish a provincial-level community emergency assistance fund; pilot community risk insurance for vulnerable groups; link religions, businesses, and philanthropists into a transparent social welfare chain with social audits; (6) Political and social organizations operate according to the correct criteria and purposes, clearly demonstrating representativeness, mass character, social - humanism, voluntary - democracy; for the noble goals of the nation, country and people.

Fourth, innovate the way unions operate - fight against the "inverted cone" between the Central and the grassroots. The Youth Union and the Women's Union must expand the base of the pyramid: each industrial park has strong Youth Union and Association organizations; each school is a community service project with specific products; shift the focus to learners, knowledge; train young workers outside the state sector, digital youth. The Trade Union returns to its proper function: periodic dialogue, substantive collective discussion, protecting workers' rights, building trade union institutions at home and at work. The Farmers' Association links cooperatives, clusters, processing, and markets; the Women's Union takes the lead in social security programs, family happiness, and mental health care. The Veterans' Association and Former People's Police are the fulcrum for discipline, order, and prevention of social evils in the community. Absolutely avoid formal movements, frequent meetings, good reports but thin results. Socio-political organizations and unions are the "common home" of each social community group operating according to expertise, profession, and field, so that they are truly united, imbued with identity, and highly professional...

Fifth, Institutionalize into a mandatory process the policy: People know - people discuss - people do - people check - people supervise - people benefit; Issue the criteria set "3 public - 3 supervision": public goals - resources - progress; supervised by the People - Front - press. All social security programs have deadlines, output standards, impact indexes; at the end of each quarter, there must be a public assessment, collecting opinions from beneficiaries with the participation of representatives of workers, businesses, authorities, Front and organizations.

Sixth, Discipline in implementation, practical emulation - inspection to the end. Apply the formula 3 Easy - 3 Clear - 3 Measure: Easy to understand - Easy to remember - Easy to do; Clear goals - Clear responsibilities - Clear deadlines; Measure inputs - Measure outputs - Measure impacts. Each member organization registers "one big result every quarter", "two breakthroughs every year"; public on the electronic tracking board. Strengthen inspection, supervision, strict rewards and discipline; no excuses, no avoidance of conflicts, no chasing after achievements.

To bring the above 6 focuses into life, the role of the Standing Committee, Party committees at all levels and each Party member is decisive: The Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front must be truly exemplary, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility; choose the right breakthrough, the right person, the right job; establish a smooth coordination mechanism from the Central to the grassroots; strive to complete the 6 focuses in the first 6 months of the term. Party committees at all levels lead and create conditions for the Front and mass organizations to promote their proper functions, without bureaucracy; set clear tasks, allocate resources transparently, remove barriers for the grassroots; periodically dialogue with the people. Party members working in the Front and mass organizations system must be the core, keeping "3 close": close to the people, close to the grassroots, close to the digital space; "5 musts": must listen, must dialogue, must be a model, must take responsibility, must report results; "4 nos": no formalities, no avoidance, no pushing, no wrong functions.

I propose that the Congress discuss thoroughly and thoroughly. Only pass targets that we are confident can be achieved and achieved well. The targets must be few but clear, measurable, and pervasive. The Resolution of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and the Central organizations is not a copy of the Draft Resolution of the 14th Congress; it must have the identity of the Front, be specific to the great national unity bloc, easy to remember - easy to do - easy to check. Do not let the Resolution "look good on paper". The Resolution must let everyone know what needs to be done tomorrow, next week, next quarter.

I suggest some early implementation milestones for the Congress to consider and resolve: Within 3 months after the Congress: complete the organization, issue the Implementation Plan for 3 Consistencies, launch the "Digital Front Portal", select 1 model for social dialogue and 1 model for community security in each province/city. Within 6 months after the Congress: organize "Month of listening to people's voices" simultaneously at all levels, organizations and unions under the Front; operate digital maps on people's livelihood issues; end the "inverted cone" situation in the Youth Union and Women's Union by expanding the base in industrial parks, boarding houses, and new rural areas. Within 1 year: independently evaluate the provincial social trust index; announce community security results; replicate the social dialogue model if the criteria are met.

In every period, if the people are at peace, the country will be stable. Protecting the Party's ideological foundation, strengthening the people's trust, preserving cultural identity, promoting creativity and humanity - these are the soft but extremely solid defense lines of the nation. The Front is where the connecting thread between the Party, the State and the People is woven; it is where correct policies are turned into correct actions and correct results.

We have all the conditions and confidence to succeed: the tradition of solidarity, the Vietnamese cultural values, social consensus, the increasingly elevated national position and especially the sense of responsibility of each Front cadre, each union cadre, each party member. What I most wish for in this term is to see clear changes at the grassroots level: fewer meetings; more work and action; fewer slogans, more results; fewer procedures, more smiles from the people.

With that spirit, I call on you comrades to unite, act resolutely, with discipline and creativity, turn the Resolution into reality, turn expectations into achievements, so that the great national unity bloc is truly an endless resource for a prosperous and happy Vietnam, firmly moving towards the two 100-year goals set by the Party and expected by the People.

Wish the Congress great success.

Thank you very much, comrades and delegates.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/phat-bieu-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tai-dai-hoi-dai-bieu-dang-bo-mat-tran-to-quoc-cac-doan-the-trung-uong-lan-thu-i-20250923132438668.htm