The attempt by Frau Reiche and the CDU to placate the homosexual lobby by promising “gay rights reforms” is as absurd as it is deplorable. The party cannot surely be hoping to win votes from the gay lobby, but in the process it is alienating many of its own natural supporters. The other big German parties, the SPD, Greens and communist PDS, are all solidly pro-homosexual, and the liberal FDP leader, Westerwelle, is himself a camp icon who is ambiguous about his sexual leanings. If the CDU surrenders the fort it will not only forfeit the right to call itself Christian but will, to use a favourite expression of the left-wing media, “drive voters into the arms of the far-Right.” All I can say is, bring on the day …