… but there’s one more in the clearly infinite line of plagiarizing German politicians – Florian Graf, Christian Democratic Union parliamentary leader, seems to have plagiarized his doctorate.
This is becoming so routine a story, so utterly predictable a series of events, that Graf has chosen to skip the traditional discovery-of-plagiarism steps —
1: Outright, outraged denial.
2: Insistence that whatever’s in the thesis, it was approved by a university committee, so any mistakes are the fault of the reviewing faculty.
3: Acknowledgment that one was very busy pursuing one’s political and family life while writing the thesis, so corners might have been cut.
4: Explanation that your work for the parliament (or wherever) doesn’t require a higher degree, so the whole thing is irrelevant.
5: Offer to rewrite the thesis.
6: In light of the university’s decision to review the thesis (the plagiarism was discovered by a website specializing in running theses through plagiarism-discovery software), a statement welcoming the review, since you are confident the thesis is absolutely fine.
7: In light of the university having discovered flagrant, blatant, omnipresent plagiarism, a statement that you are stepping down from your position.
— and has instead asked that his thesis be withdrawn. Perhaps he is hoping that this straightforward acceptance of the situation will play as dignified and reality-based, and his colleagues in the CDU will leave him alone.
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UD thanks Chris.