The German political stage is seething. Instead of using convincing arguments and programs, the possible successors of Chancellor Angela Merkel (67) are currently making headlines with allegations of plagiarism and other missteps.
After Annalena Baerbock (40), Armin Laschet (60) is now in need of an explanation. The candidate for chancellor of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) admits mistakes in his book «The rising republic. Immigration as an Opportunity »from 2009.
At least one passage copied
“At least one author of the material used in the book is not mentioned in the running text or in the list of sources,” said Laschet on Friday at the request of the German Press Agency. “In order to clarify whether there are any further errors, I will immediately have the book checked.”
There are obviously mistakes in the book for which he is responsible, explained Laschet. “I would like to expressly apologize for this, because careful work when writing works and respecting copyright law are also a question of respect for other authors for me.”
Book written as Minister of Integration
A reference to possible parallels between a passage from Laschet’s book and another publication had previously been made public on Twitter.
In the book, today’s Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia called for a “third German unity”: After the integration of the displaced and reunification, the integration of immigrants is now on the agenda.
He wrote the work in his former role as North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Integration, said Laschet. “It is a contribution to the debate and it served to present the work of the first integration ministry in Germany and to promote a new integration policy nationwide. Accordingly, the ministry was also drawn upon for the book. ” This is evident from the bibliography and the acknowledgment.
Fee not taxed
The net proceeds of the book were donated to the integration project “Coach eV”, which was closely linked to the work of the ministry – something that has been known since 2009.
Laschet has had problems in the past because of this book. Because he hadn’t properly taxed the fee of 4,000 euros. The amount was stated as a donation in the deductions, but not entered as income, writes the “Spiegel”. In 2015, Laschet then paid the taxes back.
Laschet also did not cut a good figure in the flood disasters in Germany in recent weeks. The first thing he noticed when visiting the affected areas was his overly good mood.
And then Laschet made an embarrassing appearance at an interview. ÒÀÜExcuse me, young woman. Because now is such a day, you don’t change politics, ”he says with a view to climate protection measures in the WDR program“ Current Hour ”.
Baerbock is said to have not given sources
Previously, allegations of plagiarism were raised against the Greens’ candidate for chancellor. Annalena Baerbock is said to be in her book “Jetzt. How we renew our country »quoted from other texts without citing the source. The Austrian media scientist Stefan Weber (51) accuses her of this. “And if you take it exactly, there are also several copyright violations.”
In the 240-page book, Baerbock spreads green political concepts and combines them with personal experiences. The only thing is that she does not use footnotes with which she could refer to sources.
Weber admits: “A non-fiction book by a politician in Ullstein-Verlag is not a dissertation,” he writes. But: “Text plagiarism is not ethically correct and has already been rightly criticized in non-fiction books.”
“Generally accessible facts”
The Greens initially rejected the allegations and spoke of “character assassination”. Weber is trying to “maliciously” damage Baerbock’s reputation, said a spokesman. “The passages described are generally accessible facts or known green positions.”
Shortly afterwards Baerbock rowed back himself. Compared to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” she said: “In retrospect it would certainly have been better if I had worked with a bibliography.” You have deliberately used “publicly available sources”, but take the criticism seriously.
In the German political establishment, allegations of plagiarism have already cost several top politicians their careers – starting with ex-Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU, 49) in 2011.
The allegations of plagiarism are not the only problem that Baerbock is currently struggling with. After sloppiness with additional income and a glossed-over curriculum vitae, her latest faux pas follows: In the Tachles Arena of the Central Council of Jews, she used the “N-word” when discussing racism in school books.
She quoted the word when telling a story about a student. He had refused to write a picture story on a worksheet that had the «N word» on it.
Before the interview was broadcast, however, Baerbock drew attention to the incident on Twitter and admitted her mistake. “Unfortunately, in the recording of the interview, I quoted the N-word in the emotional description of this unspeakable incident and thus reproduced it myself.” That was “wrong” and she was sorry. (man)