Bo Decision Allows China to Focus on Succession With disgraced politician Bo Xilai expelled from the party, his career effectively ended with a slew of criminal charges that are certain to result in convictions, China's ruling communists can finally focus on the crucial task of ensuring a smooth transition to a new generation of leaders. On Friday, the party's decision-making Politburo finally took long-awaited action on the scandal that had loomed over Chinese politics for more than half a year, leveling criminal charges against Bo that range from corruption to sexual affairs to abetting the cover-up of a murder by his wife. At the same time, the 25-member Politburo also made the long overdue announcement of the opening of the party congress, now scheduled for Nov. 8, when President Hu Jintao will step down as party boss and Vice President Xi Jinping will succeed him. The twin pronouncements are connected: Getting Bo out of the way was seen as crucial to healing rifts in the party and allowing Xi and a new leadership to come to power without the overhang of a messy scandal. "Having settled this contentious issue, the party leadership is in a position to start the party congress with a facade of unity and also harmony," said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. With the disgraced politician expelled from the party and facing prosecution on a slew of charges, China's ruling communists can finally focus on the crucial task of ensuring a smooth transition to a new generation of leaders. Friday's announcement also came on the eve of National Day, which commemorates Mao Zedong's Oct. 1, 1949, declaration of victory in the country's civil war and the dawn of the People's Republic of China. Despite China's explosive economic growth and breakneck modernization since then, the events surrounding Bo's fall from grace show Mao's party remains very much the opaque and powerful force in Chinese political life. "Again, this is politics overriding legal and judicial principles," Lam said, noting that the decision came from the Politburo convening behind closed doors instead of judges in an open court. "The elite politics are still done" in secrecy, Lam said. One of China's most ambitious and best-known politicians, Bo was brought down after a trusted aide disclosed that Bo's wife had murdered a British businessman. Bo was dismissed as party chief of the vibrant inland megacity of Chongqing; his wife, Gu Kailai, was given a suspended death sentence after confessing to the murder; and the aide, Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun, received a 15-year prison term for initially covering up the murder and other misdeeds. The charges against Bo, however, go much further, spanning more than a decade and including allegations that he took bribes, abused his power and had improper relationships with several women. Given the party's control of the courts, the indictment ensures the flamboyant 63-year-old's political career is finished. The criminal proceedings against Bo are likely to start soon, with steps being taken to remove him from the National People's Congress, China's top legislature. Delegates to that body have immunity from arrest and prosecution. As the son of a founding father of communist China, Bo grew up with a broad web of contacts within the party, government and military. Unlike most of the other members of the stiff and remote senior leadership, the telegenic Bo also was popular with the public, using a crackdown on organized crime in Chongqing to court publicity.