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The minister announced Saturday night that she would resign from her post. Previously, accusations of plagiarism had been raised, Aschbacher dismisses them as “accusations”. Chancellor Kurz announced that his successor will be announced on Monday.
Family and Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher (ÖVP) resigns after a plagiarism issue. In one broadcast, the 37-year-old complained of prejudice from “the media and fellow politicians.” Previously, allegations had been made that Aschbacher had copied parts of his dissertation sent in Bratislava in 2020 without properly identifying the sources. All these accusations “are accusations and I reject them,” Aschbacher emphasized Saturday night.
“I have always written my work on obtaining academic degrees to the best of my knowledge and belief and relied on the evaluation of recognized professors,” Aschbacher said in the broadcast. The work would now be reviewed and this procedure was open to everyone in this country. “My family and I experience, however, that the media and political comrades in arms do not allow me this fair review process and prejudge me in an unimaginable way in the media.”
“Unfortunately, hostility, political turmoil and attacks are spreading not only on me, but on my children as well, and with unbearable force. I can no longer allow that to be done to protect my family. Aschbacher continues.
Certified plagiarism
The expert Stefan Weber, known as the “plagiarism hunter”, had previously accused Aschbacher of having copied at least a fifth of the text of his dissertation from other sources without proper labeling. The minister had submitted the work to the Technical University of Bratislava in May of the previous year. Weber also certified the 2006 diploma thesis “Plagiarism, misquoting and insufficient knowledge of German”. The Wiener Neustadt University of Applied Sciences, where Aschbacher had studied since 2002, then announced an exam.
For his dissertation titled “Writing a Leadership Style for Innovative Companies,” Aschbacher translated a Forbes magazine article from English. In it, the author explains that he got his ideas about the innovative business management style from working with hundreds of teams. In her dissertation, Aschbacher cited the paper as a reference, but gives the impression that she herself worked “with hundreds of teams” on her thesis.
After the accusations of plagiarism became known, the FPÖ demanded Aschbacher’s resignation. The SPÖ demanded an explanation from the minister, which goes beyond Friday’s assurance that he had worked with all his knowledge and belief. “While the government is making life increasingly difficult for students, other laws apparently apply to the leadership of the ÖVP,” criticized SP scientific spokesperson Andrea Kuntzl on Saturday.
Successor introduced on Monday
It is not yet clear who will succeed Styrian minister ÖVP. In the ÖVP of Styria it was said that, naturally, they assume that they will get back on track. The resignation takes place almost exactly one year after Aschbacher was sworn in as minister of the turquoise green coalition on January 7, 2020.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) thanked Aschbacher in a broadcast for his engagement. The succession could go to a man. “His successor as Labor Minister will be presented on Monday,” Kurz announced in a short press release. Whether this means that the family minister’s agenda goes to one of the remaining ÖVP ministers was left unanswered when asked by the foreign ministry.
“Christine Aschbacher informed me today that she is resigning from her post as Minister of Labor. I respect this decision. I would like to thank Christine Aschbacher for her commitment over the last very challenging year,” Kurz said in a broadcast sent by the Chancellery immediately after the resignation. issued. Aschbacher worked with full commitment every day in an unprecedented crisis situation. Under his leadership, the short-time work model was further developed and hundreds of thousands of jobs were saved.
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