On Oct. 30, 2009, a 31-year-old graduate student at the Free University of Berlin named Franziska Giffey submitted her doctoral thesis, on the subject of “Europe’s Path to the Citizens.” As required in most countries’ university regulations, Giffey prefaced her dissertation with a statement vouching for its academic integrity.
Eleven years later, Giffey—now a rising star in Germany’s government—has already had her wrist slapped by her old university over plagiarism in her dissertation. When a new investigation into it is completed, she may have to resign from her position as a cabinet minister. So go political scandals in Germany, where other ministers have already had to resign over doctoral plagiarism. It raises the question: Do learned people make for better politicians?
