Habeck denies plagiarism allegations ahead of Germany’s parliamentary election

Two weeks before Germany’s parliamentary election, Green Party candidate Robert Habeck, the current vice chancellor and economy minister, strongly denied accusations of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis.

In a video message posted on social media, Habeck addressed the controversy, asserting that an investigation by the University of Hamburg had cleared him of any scientific misconduct.

The allegations of plagiarism, set to be made public on Monday by Austrian investigator Stefan Weber, have raised concerns ahead of the February 23 election.

Habeck emphasized that the University of Hamburg had concluded that his thesis, published in 2001, did not violate scientific standards either intentionally or negligently.

Weber had previously described Habeck’s dissertation as a “scientific simulation” in a blog post last August, suggesting that further unpleasant revelations were to come.

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Habeck also revealed that Weber would be making similar allegations against his wife, but asked the public to refrain from dragging his family into the issue, as his wife is not involved in the election campaign.

This latest plagiarism controversy recalls a similar scandal within the Green Party in 2021, when then-chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock faced accusations from Weber of plagiarizing material for her book.