Thuringia's head of government Mario Voigt is withdrawing his lawsuit against the revocation of his doctorate in order to concentrate on his tasks.
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The Chemnitz University of Technology revoked Mario Voigt's doctorate due to allegations of plagiarism.
Thuringia's head of government Mario Voigt wants to accept the withdrawal of his doctorate and end the legal dispute over it. As Prime Minister, his attention belongs to the citizens, said Voigt in a press conference in the Thuringian state parliament. “And that’s why I decided to stop the legal dispute over my dissertation,” said the CDU politician.
The decision is not easy for him. His lawyers advised him to continue the proceedings. He wanted to “concentrate on what lies ahead of us” without making any compromises, he said. Such a legal dispute requires time, energy and attention.
AfD kept up the pressure
Voigt has been under political pressure for months because of allegations of plagiarism regarding his dissertation. The Chemnitz University of Technology had withdrawn his doctorate and also rejected Voigt's objection to it. The 49-year-old then filed a lawsuit with the Chemnitz Administrative Court. He said he took this back on Wednesday morning.
Voigt's announcement that he would end the legal dispute over his doctoral thesis came half an hour before a special session of the state parliament, at which a decision would be made on the dissolution of parliament at the request of the AfD parliamentary group. However, it is considered unlikely that the necessary two-thirds majority will be achieved.

The AfD faction under Björn Höcke was unable to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority in the Thuringian state parliament for the parliament to dissolve itself. 34 MPs voted in favor, 52 against.
The AfD was unable to obtain the necessary majority in the Thuringian state parliament for self-dissolution. In the vote in Erfurt, 34 MPs voted in favor and 52 against. In addition, Prime Minister Mario Voigt withdrew his lawsuit against the revocation of his doctorate.
The AfD parliamentary group under Björn Höcke has failed with its application to dissolve the Thuringian state parliament. The necessary two-thirds majority was clearly missed at the special session in Erfurt.
Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt (CDU) has withdrawn his lawsuit against the revocation of his doctorate by Chemnitz University of Technology. He justifies the move with the need to concentrate on his government work in a difficult political situation.
Lower Saxony's state government criticizes the Bundestag's decision to plan a new railway line between Hamburg and Hanover. Prime Minister Lies and Minister Tonne are instead calling for the existing route to be expanded and criticizing the unsecured financing.
The AfD faction under Björn Höcke was unable to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority in the Thuringian state parliament for the parliament to dissolve itself. In the vote in Erfurt, 34 MPs voted for and 52 against.