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Iceland has announced a new government that will be headed by the modern world’s first openly gay leader. Johanna Sigurdardottir was named new prime minister by the country’s coalition political parties.

“The government inherits enormous difficulties due to the banking and systemic collapse as well as considerable and rapidly increasing foreign debts and liabilities of the national economy,” the new coalition said in a statement. It said its priorities would be replacing the board of governors of the central bank and to ask a parliamentary committee to look at the possibility of entering the European Union.
‘Liberal voters’

Ms Sigurdardottir, a former social affairs minister, is the member of the Social Democratic Alliance.

The 66-year-old’s appointment as interim leader – until elections in May – is seen by many as a milestone for the gay and lesbian movement, correspondents say.

“I don’t think her sexual orientation matters. Our voters are pretty liberal, they don’t care about any of that,” Skuli Helgeson, Social Democratic Alliance’s general secretary, told the BBC.

Ms Sigurdardottir – who has never hidden her sexuality – is, nevetherless, very private about her personal life, never discussing it in public. She married her companion Jonina Ledsdottir in 2002. She is one of Iceland’s most popular politicians.

It matters, of course, to the world of bigots.