Merkel Backs Guttenberg as He Drops Doctorate Amid Copying Spat

Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg’s decision to relinquish his academic doctoral title and backed him in the face of charges that he plagiarized parts of his dissertation.

Guttenberg, 39, told a party meeting of Merkel’s Christian Democrats late yesterday that he had made “grave errors” in writing the dissertation. He said he will stay on as minister. While Merkel said dropping the title was “right,” she said she appointed him to reform the military rather than on the strength of his doctorate, according to the chancellery.