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Thursday, November 19, 2020
Franziska Giffey could become director of the Berlin SPD in November and mayor next year. But the FU Berlin now wants to review his doctoral thesis for plagiarism again. According to information from ntv, the family minister wants to take legal action against him.
Federal Minister for Family Franziska Giffey wants to sue the Free University of Berlin (FU) in the dispute over her doctoral thesis. As ntv learned from the SPD policy environment, it wants to appeal against reopening the trial procedure. The claim is therefore based on the so-called protection of legitimate expectations, since Giffey’s doctoral thesis was first examined more than a year ago. Since then, no new situations have emerged, he said.
Giffey is accused of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis. A first test ended in 2019 with a complaint. The minister’s doctorate was not revoked. In the meantime, however, the university has announced another exam until the end of February. The doctoral commission of the Department of Political and Social Sciences should set up a commission for this purpose.
As justification, the UF relied on an expert opinion, according to which a complaint can only be issued in a less serious case. However, such “was not shown in the final report of the thesis examination board.” Therefore, “a new test should be performed”, after which a new decision should be made.
AKK demands resignation in case of withdrawal
Late last week, Giffey announced that he would be giving up his Ph.D. in the future. However, he wants to stay in office. This step does not prevent a new exam, since formally the title can only be revoked by the university. The case is also explosive because Giffey wants to run for state president of the Berlin SPD in November. This could also make him the leading candidate for his party in the House of Representatives elections in fall 2021, and succeed the current ruling mayor, Michael Müller.
Meanwhile, the leader of the CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, asked Giffey to resign if he retired his doctorate. The examination of the work and the complaints must “end quickly,” said the Federal Defense Minister. “If these allegations turn out to be true, I assume that Ms. Giffey will do what she already announced,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
