Merkel successor Armin who laughed at Germany floods, now admits to 'book plagiarism'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats Union (CDU) frontrunner Armin Laschet, who is to succeed Merkel as chancellor after German elections, on Friday admitted to plagiarising his book The Rising Republic —Immigration As An Opportunity after a checker pointed out similarities with another publication. Merkel's successor issued a formal apology on Twitter, becoming Germany’s second major candidate to be accused of plagiarism. “There are obviously mistakes for which I bear responsibility,” 60-year-old Laschet wrote in a tweet, adding that he should have properly cited the source for his 2009 book that is based on the integration of immigrants. 

Laschet had launched the book at the time he was the integration minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, his governing state. The German press reported on Friday that the frontrunner to succeed Angela Merkel as the Chancellor has agreed to get his book checked of the errors after he also briefly accused his rival from the Green party Annalena Baerbock of plagiarism. Annalena Baerbock earlier this month had similarly acknowledged that she had actually used the material in her new book without giving credits or either listing sources. She had called the error an honest mistake. 

 Armin Laschet was first called out for plagiarism by a development aid expert named Karsten Weitzenegger, who wrote on Twitter that a CDU candidate’s book has quotes without actual sources to it. The academic misconduct is deemed serious in Germany and has caused many politicians to resign from their position of power in the past, the European media reports. Laschet plunged into a pool of controversy ahead of the German election polls scheduled for September 26 for the election of a new parliament. The incident has dipped his approval ratings among the Germans. 

Was earlier caught 'laughing' at floods

The controversy has risen just days after the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state was caught laughing at Germany’s devastating flooding as dramatic rescue efforts on the ground gave way. He attracted backlash during his visit to a flood-stricken town, where at the time 196 people were confirmed dead. Laschet was caught on camera giggling at a joke while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was delivering a sombre speech. Laschet later said, “It was stupid and shouldn't have happened and I regret it, I am sorry, I can’t say much more.”