Bring on the Pirates!
Pirate Party Wins and Enters The European Parliament
(Ernesto, TorrentFreak, 7 Jun 2009)
When the Swedish Pirate Party was founded in early 2006, the majority of the mainstream press were skeptical, with some simply laughing it away. But they were wrong to dismiss this political movement out of hand. Today, the Pirate Party accomplished what some believed to be the impossible, by securing a seat in the European Parliament.
With 99.9% of the districts counted the Pirates have 7.1 percent of the votes, beating several established parties. This means that the Pirate Party will get at least one, but most likely two of the 18 (+2) available seats Sweden has at the European Parliament.
OK, so this is very tiny in the big scheme of things, but it is a good sign. May they continue to have electoral success in the future.
And if they ever show up on a ballot I have an opportunity to vote for, they almost certainly have my vote.
From Facebook comments:
JH at 12:56am June 9
The Pirate Party may be small in Sweden, but it’s making great strides in Somalia. What I can’t figure is why there isn’t a Viking party in some Scandinavian country doing at least as well as these guys.
Anyone up for starting a Ninja Party in the US? The debates would kick ass. 2 minutes for an answer, 1 minute for a response, and 15 seconds for jumping, stabbing, and slashing.