Press review
Armin Laschet is under pressure: The Union’s candidate for chancellor is weakening in surveys and now has plagiarism allegations on his neck. This is how the press commented on Laschet’s situation.
Almost two months before the federal election, Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) admitted mistakes in his book “The rising republic. Immigration as a chance” from 2009 and asked for an apology. A comparison by the plagiarism checker Martin Heidingsfelder had previously been published on Twitter, pointing to striking similarities between a passage in the Laschet book and another text.
The trouble hits Laschet at a sensitive time. In surveys, the CDU / CSU is still the undisputed number one with 26 to 30 percent. Laschet himself, however, is struggling with falling approval ratings as a potential Federal Chancellor. In two recent polls, he was only just overtaken by the SPD candidate Olaf Scholz, even if his party is only in third place behind the Greens.
This is how the German media rate Laschet’s situation:
“The bell” (Oelde): “Armin Laschet does not make it into the election campaign. The NRW Prime Minister largely missed the chance to prove himself as a crisis manager in the flood disaster. Instead of setting topics and making a name for himself as a candidate for chancellor, unnecessary mistakes are piling up. The tasteless ones Lacher is still present at an on-site meeting with the Federal President in the flood area, followed by allegations of plagiarism on Friday. Laschet has to admit that he did not work properly for a non-fiction book Affair about sloppy exams as a lecturer at the Technical University of Aachen in 2014. Is that the stuff future chancellors are made of? “
“Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “Laschet acts like a plagiarism Baerbock when it comes to self-dismantling. At first he grins at the wrong moment when a statesmanlike attitude would have been indicated. Now he too has to admit mistakes in a book that are fatally reminiscent of the work of the Green leader. The acute crises he just seems to want to smile away. Corona? Climate change? He doesn’t make any accents. “
“Southgerman newspaper”: “The Union is now learning that it cannot hope that those who have always ticked the box because of Angela Merkel will do so again in September. For six million people, Merkel was the decisive reason for choosing Union Two months before the election date, it becomes clear how naive it was to believe that Laschet, Merkel’s confidante, could tie their votes which is his. “
“New Osnabrück Newspaper”: “The good thing about the plagiarism allegations from his point of view: The cheating will not cost Armin Laschet a doctorate. Nevertheless, the admitted mistakes further damage his image. In the CSU, but also in parts of the CDU, there was already great disappointment about the clumsy and content-wise.” vague chancellor candidates wide. And now that! What an annoying election campaign it has been so far. Instead of wrestling for the right answers to the enormous future tasks, Laschet and Baerbock are busy with self-defense. For a long time it looked as if the country was steering towards his first black-green government closed. That is still possible. But Laschet and Baerbock have managed to make the race much more open again through their mishaps. “
“Darmstadt Echo “: “One could almost believe that Laschet the plagiarism allegations come at the right time. Because he makes bigger mistakes, about which one now perhaps even less talked about. And who knows: The affair may even help him, with the ranks of the Union behind him close. Only: That alone will not be enough to win the election. For that, more must come from the candidate. ”
“Frankfurter Rundschau”: “With the CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet, another politician has proven that he cannot quote correctly and apologizes for it. It would have been better if he had correctly cited the sources in his work, then he could address the important issues in the It shouldn’t be about polished résumés or fake laughs, but rather about climate protection, adaptation to climate change or the fourth corona wave. “
“People’s Voice” (Magdeburg): According to several recent surveys, around one in five would like to have Olaf Scholz as Federal Chancellor. The SPD candidate overtakes CDU competitor Armin Laschet. There are two main reasons for this development. Reason one is Armin Laschet. So his proverbial cloudiness – talking a lot but not saying anything concrete, his urge to keep things open in all directions for as long as possible instead of making a decision. His bizarre giggling fit in the middle of the flood disaster didn’t help him either. Reason number two is Olaf Scholz. Also more from the “Boring” category, but a solid one. Someone who can wait and has a feel for timing and situations. And whose word also applies in general. A real warning shot for Laschet and the Christian Democrats. But as with all surveys, the same applies here: the chickens are counted in the evening.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
