Plagiator to protect "Internet freedom"

Around two years ago, when Germany's current governing coalition took office, I wrote about how I could not understand the cabinet appointments. Now, it seems that a certain Mr Guttenberg, whom I have written about considerably (the former German Defense Minister who committed flagrant plagiarism in his dissertation), has been asked to help EU Commissioner Kroes look into how freedom on the Internet can be protected.

Once again, I fail to understand why this particular person was chosen – though, of course, a slew of people have already felt free enough on Internet forums and blogs to surmise that Mr. Googleberg (aka Minister of Copy & Paste) is obviously the perfect choice for Internet freedom.

Nonetheless, he has apparently never said anything or had anything to do with this issue. Decisions like these undermine public faith in our democratic processes by making the impression that some politicians are simply too important to drop. In other words, personality trumps merit.

Related articles

• Guttenberg buys his way out of prosecution for €20,000 (ktwop.wordpress.com)