“Take the criticism seriously”: Baerbock admits errors in the plagiarism debate


“Take the criticism seriously”
Baerbock admits errors in plagiarism debate

Annalena Baerbock is self-critical after the plagiarism allegations. You take the allegations seriously, says the Chancellor candidate of the Greens. A bibliography in her book would have been better, notes the party leader.

In the dispute over her book, the Greens’ candidate for Chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, admitted a mistake. “In retrospect, it would certainly have been better if I had worked with a list of sources,” she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. You have consciously resorted to publicly available sources, especially when it comes to facts, she said. “But I take the criticism seriously.”

Baerbock are accused of unmarked takeovers from other publications. In part, the allegation of copyright infringement was made. The Greens replied that the passages described were generally accessible facts or known Green positions.

The chancellor candidate has been criticized for weeks. She had to subsequently report additional income to the Bundestag and correct her résumé published on the Internet. Currently, both Baerbock and her party are struggling with declining polls.

Laschet does not want to get into the plagiarism debate

Despite the argument, Baerbock does not want to fall back into old friend-foe reflexes – even if it is difficult for her at times. “For more than three years in the party, Robert Habeck and I have worked hard to overcome rifts through a different approach and approach,” she said. This type of communication is put to the test in a tough election campaign, precisely because of personal hostility.

“I also slipped into old trenches for a moment,” she admitted. “It’s the opposite for me: to discuss the big questions of the future openly and broadly, hard and clear on the matter, but fair in tone and open to arguments.” This is how she wants to campaign.

Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet is also calling for a more intense discussion of the content of the election campaign. “I wish that we slowly get to the political debate,” said the CDU politician in the evening in the series of talks “Brigitte live”. He would prefer that to the question of whether or not Baerbock had copied for a book.

Laschet also denied the question of whether the Green Chancellor candidate would be taken harder than others in the election campaign. However, he pointed out that there was a certain amount of misogyny in the debate on the Internet. Women would also be sexist offended there.

.