Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the
twice-elected prime minister of Spain, has lauded gay marriage as a
great achievement.
When asked in a television interview
for examples of the best and worst of being prime minister, the
50-year-old Zapatero gave gay marriage as an example of one of the
best things he's done during his two terms.
“The best thing is that you can
change things, and the lives of people,” he said on Los
Desayunos de TVE. “I'll always remember, for example, that
with the gay marriage law … There have been many, many gay people
who have approached me and thanked me: 'Never forget, you've changed
our lives, you've made us happy.'”
In his bid to win a third term as prime
minister, Zapatero will face Mariano Rajoy, the president of Spain's
conservative Partido Popular (PP), next year.
Rajoy
– and his party – oppose the country's five-year-old gay marriage
law.
Pope
Benedict XVI has urged Roman Catholics to oppose Zapatero's socialist
government and its liberal reforms, which include fast-track divorce,
gay marriage and easier access to abortion.