Andrej Danko is formally the second highest official in the Slovak Republic. Now he has been accused of having written off a large part of his 2000 dissertation, according to news agency dpa, which refers to Slovak media reports.
Danko put his doctoral thesis together from five publications by other authors. The daily newspaper "Dennik N" published extracts from Danko's work on Thursday and compared them with the textual passages of the other publications, some of which are literally identical. Representatives of the opposition parties then called on Danko to resign.
Danko, who is also the party leader of the co-governing right-wing populist national party SNS, has been under criticism for weeks due to inconsistencies surrounding his doctorate.
Doctoral thesis in secrecy
According to his own statements, he had completed his law studies in Bratislava, but submitted his doctoral thesis at the regional university in Banska Bystrica. When journalists wanted to see his doctoral thesis there in September, he obliged the university to keep the work secret.
In addition to the media and politicians, numerous scientists protested against this unusual step, which in their view puts the reputation of the Slovak universities at risk.
Meanwhile, the university set up a commission to investigate both the suspicion of plagiarism and the legitimacy of Danko's self-imposed prohibition on the doctoral thesis. Their report is expected at the earliest in January. Until then, Danko would not comment on the affair, said his spokesman.
Six years ago, there had already been a spectacular case of plagiarism in Slovakia. At that time, complaints were made against the then Slovak politician and Commissioner Jan Figel. He should also have cheated on his doctorate.