 He earned the epithet "Westerwave" (a literal translation of his surname into English) as a consequence of these remarks.Westerwelle made public statements in 2010 about the "welfare state", claiming that promising the people effortless prosperity may lead to "late Roman decadence", in reference to a verdict in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany regarding Hartz IV.In 2010 Westerwelle announced he would not be taking his civil partner Michael Mronz to anti-gay countries.