Awwal 24, 1432 H/Feb 27, 2011, SPA -- Almost half of all Germans still think Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg could one day be chancellor, according to a survey released Sunday, despite revelations that much of his doctoral thesis was copied from other works, according to dpa. In the survey by TNS Emnid, 46 per cent of respondents said the 39-year-old Guttenberg has what it takes to be chancellor, while 45 per cent of respondents disagreed. Guttenberg, a telegenic aristocrat, has frequently been cited as Germany's most popular minister - ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel - until it emerged last week that more than 100 pages of his 475-page doctoral thesis were copied without citation. Last week, the minister was stripped of his doctoral title - at his own behest - but he has rejected calls for his resignation and still enjoys Merkel's backing. By late Sunday, more than 15,000 doctoral candidates had signed an online letter to Merkel, expressing "shock and great incomprehension" at her decision to retain Guttenberg as a minister, despite mounting indications that he had cheated in his thesis. Bayreuth University, which gave Guttenberg top marks for his dissertation, is investigating whether he deliberately tried to mislead examiners by passing off others' work as his own - a charge the minister denies. The mass-circulation Bild newspaper, which has conducted a pro- Guttenberg campaign, wrote that 72 per cent of respondents to an Emnid survey hoped the minister would stay in office. This is despite the fact that 46 per cent believed Guttenberg was a cheat, according to the same survey.
