The truth comes out! Twenty-seven year old Austrian politician Stefan Petzner admitted this week to having a long-term affair with his recently deceased boss, Jörg Haider (seen in the foreground).

Though it's long been rumored, the murmurs of Haider's homo ways were revived last week after photographers spotted him at a gay bar just minutes before he was involved in a fatal car crash.

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Jörg Haider's far-right politics helped him make a name - and a career - for himself in Austria.

Known for his at times inflammatory tone, Haider became quite the prominent face for the nation's social conservatives. That face, however, will be seen no more, for Haider died in a shocking car accident last week.

Now that he's dead and gone, however, some are claiming the politician hit up a gay-friendly club before the accident:

According to a report by the German-language newspaper Bild, Haider's evening began with a surprise appearance at the launch party of a new Austrian tabloid, where he was photographed in the company of a young local woman.
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However, contrary to previous reports, the evening of the charismatic leader did not end there. Before heading home, Haider made a quick visit to Stadtkraeme, a local club famous for its gay night scene.

Haider was spotted leaving the place on his own shortly before 1 A.M., fatally crashing his car half an hour later.

This wouldn't be the first time Haider's name has been linked to the homos. An Austrian paper claimed eight years ago that the politico, who has been accused of anti-semitism, enjoyed the company of other men.

Austrian tongues are wagging over ultra-conservative Jorg Haider's wild night out:

Last week, the former leader of the right-wing Freedom Party visited a club known for its parties offering extremely cheap drinks. Haider partied there till 3 am, buying several rounds of drinks for the clubbers.

The proud club owner put pictures of the 57-year-old on his website, showing Haider closely hugging several young men, drink in hand.

Haider rejected any accusations of improper behaviour. "The governor is known for his open dealings with young people," his spokesman said.

Haider's long been haunted by homo-flavored rumors. Newspaper The Tageszeitung began chatting about Haider's sexuality over a decade ago and the paper's editors claim to have proof of the politician's gay ways, including evidence that he enjoys the company of teenage boys. "Open dealings with young people," indeed…

Things are looking up in Austria, where politicians are drafting a gay marriage law.

In an attempt to end years of political dispute Austria's Social Democrat Justice Minister Maria Berger Wednesday introduced a first draft for a law granting gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals. The so-called registered partnership shows a number of parallels with traditional marriage law, complete with similar rights and duties, but was no "marriage light" Berger stressed and was independent of current marriage legislation.
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Berger's draft will be discussed by a bipartisan working group before being introduced to parliament by the end of this year.

If only Austrian-born, gay marriage vetoing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were as progressive as his countrywomen.

Viennese men will no longer dominate street signage, say Viennese officials who've unveiled new bigendered the city's public space.

In switching genders, so to speak, they hope to help change popular misconceptions of gender roles. Of the semiotic shift, City Councillor for Women's Affairs, Sonja Wehsely notes:

Language and picture language says a lot about social roles. We are used to seeing pictograms of men for everything, and only pictograms of women when it is to do with children. That's not reality.

Gone are the exclusively women-centric signs, replaced by some more modern images depicting daddies on doo-doo duty.

Though the move garnered considerable praise, not everyone's so pleased. One woman thinks the government should worry about more pressing issues, The Advocate reports:

I'm a woman but I couldn't care less if there's a woman or a man on the sign. I'd prefer it if I got the same salary as my male colleagues.

Pish-posh. A picture of a man changing a diaper's way more important than your stupid salary, lady. Sheesh, stop being so selfish.

(A note on the image: officials created dozens of mock-up signs, many of which don't comply with EU laws of conformity, like the one you see above. We have to say, it's a shame. Look at that shit, it's superb! That tag-line should read, "I don't care if you're wearing heels, there's a fire! Run, girl, run!")

Try to follow us here: Man marries woman. Man gets sex change while married to woman. Woman still loves man. Neither wants divorce.

The result, in case you didn't already figure it out, is a same-sex marriage. The government of Austria is still trying to sort out what exactly this means, since they have to accommodate the man's sex change and cannot force the couple to divorce. The government only recently rejected efforts to extend even meager domestic partnership rights to same-sex couples.

They're in quite the predicament and we look forward to seeing the aftermath. Thank goodness for trannies!

Austria Gets First Same-Sex Marriage [365 Gay]

What were some of the biggest headlines and news stories about the gay community this year? There were many important happenings this year. Here are our top So Gay! picks.

5. Hangings In Iran. It’s tough enough being openly gay in this world. But we can’t even begin to imagine living in a country where people are publicly executed for being gay. Absolutely revolting.

4. Sheryl Swoopes’ Coming Out. The bitch was so cool this year that she made not one but two of our So Gay! lists. No one in pro sports as popular as the WNBA’s Swoops has had the courage to come out of the closet while still an active player. We hope this is the start of a long overdue trend.

3. Schwarzenegger Same-Sex Marriage Bill Veto. Oh that Arnie. As seen as he found out about it, the former homo boy toy announced he would veto the bill that would have legalized gay marriage in California, the country’s most populated state. His follow through instantly disappointed committed queers in GLBT meccas San Francisco, Palm Springs, and LA. Guess who is up for re-election next year?

2. Vatican Ban On Gays. Though employing God only knows how many gays, the Catholic Church this year decided it wanted them banned from the Priesthood. The directive came out under newbie Pope Benedict. Why the need for the document? Because only gays abuse little boys, silly! Get rid of them and bammo! Problem solved. Well, not really.

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