14 DAY TRIAL // The Pirate Party is only a few years old and its rather radical agenda guarantees that it won't have mainstream appeal anytime soon. Its popularity has had its ups and downs, depending on the events in any of the countries where it operated.
But it has now managed its greatest victory yet, the first parliamentary seats won via elections.
The Pirate Party managed to snag 5.1 percent of the votes in the parliamentary election held yesterday in Iceland, just enough to get in the parliament.
In Iceland, the Pirate Party is focused on reforming copyright laws and fighting for freedom of speech, both issues having become rather important in the country.
The party was only founded nine months ago in Iceland, but it has now won three seats in parliament, out of 63 in total.
The success is not totally unexpected; the party was founded by former member of the parliament and activist Birgitta Jónsdóttir, known internationally for being investigated by the FBI in conjunction with WikiLeaks.
That said, three seats won't mean much, especially since it looks like two center right parties, the ones that led the country for 28 years before the financial collapse of a few years ago, will be forming a coalition.
Still, it's the highest achievement the Pirate Party has ever made anywhere, and their presence in the parliament alone could be enough to spur some change and counter some measures that may be pushed forward by the leading parties.
"There will no doubt be a lot of work to do in the Alþing [the Icelandic parliament] – even though Iceland has been very progressive with its ideas, fewer of those ideas have been implemented in law. Having legislators in Iceland may facilitate that; there’s a lot of work up ahead," Rick Falkvinge, the founder of the Pirate Party, wrote.