Civil Partnership.

No not Dermot, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who published the Civil Partnership Bill earlier this year  but our Dear Iar-Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

As you may have noticed Bertie has a book out and has been on the book tour trail both here and abroad and has been enthralling interviewers with his ‘isms’.

In response to a question from Time Magazine about Ireland having changed dramatically during his time in politics., we got a dose of the economics alongside the social change (note all those stats rolling off his tounge!)

If you go back to the mid-’80s, unemployment was 20%. The debt-GDP ratio was higher than Ethiopia’s. Emigration was massive. The new Irish [immigrants] were 1% of the workforce. Before this recession we got to full employment, 7% growth every year. Most of the young Irish that wanted to came back. The working population of the new Irish is now 15%. We’ve been able to put huge money into infrastructure, to attract foreign direct investment to set up new industries. We brought in legislation decriminalizing homosexuals, helping gay and lesbian couples to have civil partnerships, we brought in divorce.

Helping gay and lesbian couples to have civil partnerships  – now lets put aside that the legislation is not passed, that another minister published it in under a different Taoiseach – lets just look at the way that lesbians and gay men are being helped. We are not worthy. He was not cracking that particular joke during his standup routine interview on the Late Late last week.

I also love the way he says homosexuals were decriminalised – and not homosexual acts. And shhh should we mention that it was a Rainbow government that brought in divorce?

If you notice any other fine interviews from Bertie as the superhero of social change in Ireland please let me know!

(h/t: Ian)

Update: I’ve been keeping away from commenting on the coverage/interpretation of Stephen Gately’s civil partnership in national and international media and even by the Catholic Church – it’s too soon for that for me anyway. However today’s Sunday Independent piece on the events of the past week turns into  spin on Bertie fitting in nicely with the above.   In a piece by Anne Harris, Brendan O’Connor and Barry Egan (3 of ye to write it eh?) we get this.

Bertie Ahern was there. And he was entitled to be. Not just because Stephen was a constituent but because no politician did more to further the cause of civic partnerships.

It’s now folklore. When you are all rushing up the registry office or wherever to do the indecent thing it’ll be Bertie that got it for you.