A reader writes:
You may have missed this in the US (we're used to it, we are a small country after all), but
we finally/(almost) got a government here in Belgium! But I know you will be more interested by the fact that our soon-to-be prime minister is actually gay, and that … we don't care.
Honestly, we are more surprised by the fact that he is the first French-speaking prime minister since 1979, or that is the son of an Italian immigrant miner. And you shouldn't be surprised yourself; we are a country with full equality for gays and lesbians: marriage, adoption … you name it, we have it!
That doesn't mean that we are perfect of course; it's not like there is no homophobia here, and I personally met some peoples who were unhappy because he is gay, but still, in large part, we don't care that much. I think the best definition of the general opinion is "somewhat-curious-and-a-little-bit-frightened-but-in-the-end-I-don't-care(-and-don't-take-my-social-security-money-away)".
The first openly gay head of state was Iceland's Johanna Sigurdardottir, in 2009. Update from a reader:
Sorry to nitpick, but neither Sigurdardottir nor Di Rupo are heads of state. As Prime Ministers they are heads of government. The Iceland's head of state is a mostly powerless President, while that of Belgium is King Albert II.
(Photo: Socialist Party Chairman Elio Di Rupo attends the French speaking socialist party congress on December 4, 2011 in Brussels. The party's militants are to vote on the Socialist Party's participation in the new Federal Government, known as Di Rupo I. By Dirk Waem/AFP/Getty Images)
The Dish 