Economic leverage for the pivotal year 2026

In an interview before 2026, General Secretary To Lam talked a lot about preventing and combating corruption, waste and negativity; about the 14th National Congress; about solidarity - discipline - breakthrough; about development for people and by knowledge. If we look at it through the lens of the economy, that message has a very clear underground line: integrity is not an ethical slogan, but a fundamental condition for growth.

2026 is another special year to open the 14th Congress term, opening a new cycle of action, and at the same time posing higher requirements for national governance in the context of a rapidly changing and unpredictable world. When the external environment is chaotic, the most precious thing of an economy is not only capital, technology or market, but "capital of trust" - the trust of people, businesses, and investors in a transparent, disciplined, and fair governance.

Integrity: Leverage of the market, not the coste of development

In the message, the General Secretary emphasized a truth that needs to be put in the right place to clean the apparatus without hindering development, but for healthier and more sustainable development. This is a very "economic" viewpoint. Because corruption, waste, and negativity not only cause a loss of money. It increases transaction costs, gives birth to more procedures, prolongs time, and erodes innovation momentum. For businesses, it is an "unwritten tax" that causes higher capital costs, greater risks, and more distorted competition. For the people, it is the concern of "a simple thing becomes complicated". For the economy, it is an effective decline of each social asset.

On the contrary, integrity creates an environment where the right person has a support, the upright person has a position. When the market operates according to clear rules, businesses dare to invest long-term, dare to upgrade technology, dare to pay good salaries to retain good human resources. When people believe: "The efforts will be recognized", consumption and entrepreneurship will be stronger. In other words, integrity is a form of soft infrastructure - not seen in concrete, but determines growth speed and quality.

Fighting waste: "Growth mines" are not fully exploited

A notable highlight in the message at the beginning of the year is the key expansion: From anti-corruption to anti-waste - because waste "most times is not noisy, but the consequences are huge". This is a very real warning about the "death penalty" of many developing economies: No shortage of ideas, no shortage of projects, but a lack of discipline in implementation and a mechanism for taking responsibility to the end.

Waste in public investment, land, public assets, projects behind schedule... not only wastes money but also loses opportunities. And the opportunity for development, sometimes only comes in a very limited time frame. A project that is extended by one more year can mean a missed investment cycle, an un formed supporting business line, a local job market that is not "blooming" at the right time.

The message clearly states the requirement to review and thoroughly handle ineffective long-term projects; rectify financial and budgetary discipline; improve the quality of public administration to "each penny, each piece of land, each public asset" to serve development and serve the people. If possible, this is a large "growth mine" for growth by improving resource efficiency, not just by "pumping more capital".

From "opposite" to "opposite" position: modern management thinking

The message at the beginning of the year used a very old but very standard image about governance: There needs to be a "vaccine", "antibiotics", "preventive medicine" to promptly prevent corruption, waste and negativity. That is the mindset of shifting from handling cases to creating a system. In economics, handling violations is like firefighting: Necessary, but always costly and often "the consequences have occurred". Prevention is to build a system of laws, processes, data, transparency, and control power so that the bad cannot and does not dare to arise. This is especially meaningful in the period of 2026-2030, when Vietnam needs to promote stronger institutional reform, deeper decentralization and delegation of power.

The General Secretary emphasized that delegation of authority must be associated with responsibility bonds, decentralization must go hand in hand to control power; do not let "space" become "dark space". In the language of economics, expanding local initiative rights and implementing units is necessary to accelerate, but if there is no control and transparency mechanism, the risk of loss and waste will increase and growth will be " substandard".

Protecting those who dare to do: paving the way for breakthroughs

At the beginning of the year, when talking about integrity, many people often think of "tightening" and " Fine". But this message is clearly balanced and strictly handled, but there must be a mechanism to protect those who dare to think, dare to do, and innovate for the common good. This is an extremely important point for the economy. Because an administration afraid of responsibility will slow down the economy on a multiplier basis. When "they are afraid of meeting anything", people will choose the safest option, not being determined, not signing, not daring to try something new. And so the opportunity passed.

To create a breakthrough, you must be both disciplined and encouraged. Discipline to prevent wrongdoings; encourage the spreading of the right. Creating a " supported" for the right people is also creating a "runway" for growth based on innovation.

14th Congress: Discipline to go far, break through to go quickly

In the section on the 14th Congress, the General Secretary raised the motto of action "Solidarity - Democracy - Discipline - Breakthrough - Development". If constructed in the spirit of economic solidarity and trust as a condition for society to operate smoothly; discipline is the foundation of good governance; breakthrough is the way to remove "bottlenecks"; development is the ultimate goal measured by people's lives. In particular, the message emphasizes development for people and by knowledge - measured by employment, income, housing, education, health care, social security for the elderly, support for disadvantaged areas. That is the most accurate "measure" of growth, whether growth can make life better or not. To truly " get better", growth momentum cannot only rely on expanding capital and exploiting resources in the old way. Therefore, placing science - technology, innovation, digital transformation as a key driving force; at the same time, promoting all social resources, in which the private economy is an important driving force... is a very practical choice.

The spring of faith: each person is a little better

There is a section in the message that makes readers feel Tet very close, the General Secretary hopes that each family will be safe, each person will enter the new year with the simple fact of doing their job better and when millions of better things are added, the country will become stronger and sustainable. It is not just a wish. That is a development philosophy based on productivity, discipline and a sense of responsibility.

The economy in 2026 that wants to make a breakthrough cannot only rely on a few large projects or a few policy incentives. It needs millions of "small improvements": better governance of businesses, improved skills of workers, faster service by public agencies, more transparent procedures, more disciplined budget, more projects on schedule. And so that those small improvements are not eliminated by invisible barriers, the foundational condition is still integrity and discipline. When confidence is consolidated, social costs decrease, investment motivation increases, creativity has a place to live, then the economic boost will come naturally - without needing to shout, without needing to trade.

The message at the beginning of the year, therefore, can be wrapped up in a very concise idea, integrity is the shortest way to sustainable prosperity. And that is also the spirit of the spring of 2026: A spring of action, of responsibility, of "better" things every day - for the country to enter a new era of development with intelligence, courage and strong belief.

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