Pirate Party (Iceland)

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Pirate Party
Píratar
Founder
Founded 24 November 2012
Headquarters Sigtúni 59 kjallari, 105 Reykjavík
Membership  (2015) 1,443 [1]
Ideology
European affiliation European Pirate Party
Colours          
Purple and Black
Seats in the Althing
3 / 63
Election symbol
Þ
Website
piratar.is
Politics of Iceland
Political parties
Elections

The Pirate Party (Icelandic: Píratar) is a political party in Iceland. The party's platform is based on pirate politics and direct democracy.[2]

History

The party was cofounded on 24 November 2012 by Birgitta Jónsdóttir (previously a member of the Movement), and several prominent Internet activists, including Smári McCarthy.[2][3][4] The party successfully applied for the ballot list letter Þ in order to run in the 2013 parliamentary election. This marks their first electoral participation as well as the first party to request the letter Þ. The party managed to win three seats in the 2013 election and became the first pirate party in the world to enter a national parliament.

In the 2013 parliamentary election, the Pirate Party won 5.1% of the votes, just above the 5% threshold required to win representation in the Althing, winning 3 seats.[2] The three members elected, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson and Jón Þór Ólafsson, were the first pirates elected to any national legislature in the world.[5][6]

Following the Charlie Hebdo shooting on 7 January 2015, the Pirate Party began a campaign to repeal Iceland's blasphemy laws. The laws, which had been introduced in 1940, were successfully repealed in early July 2015. The repeal, introduced by the Pirate Party, read: "Freedom of expression is one of the cornerstones of democracy. It is fundamental to a free society that people should be able to express themselves without fear of punishment, whether from the authorities or from other people."[7] During the vote on the repeal, the three Pirate Party members of the Althing stood and declared "Je suis Charlie", in solidarity with the French satirical magazine.[8]

Since 30 April 2015 the party has consistently topped polling for the next Icelandic parliamentary election in 2017, with support roughly equal to the Independence Party and the Progressive Party combined, who are currently partners in a coalition government.[9][10][11]

An MMR opinion poll published in January 2016 put their public support at 37.8%, significantly above that of all other Icelandic political parties.[12] Since April 2015, they have consistently polled above 30%, with no other party reaching that level.

In April 2016 public protests about the Prime Minister's role in the Panama Papers brought out a significant percentage of the whole population, and may have been among "the largest demonstrations of any kind, in any country, ever (proportionately speaking)".[1] In the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, polls in April 2016 showed the Pirate Party at 43% and the Independence Party at 21.6%.[13]

Recent issue stances

European Union

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Main article: Accession of Iceland to the European Union

The party has not officially taken a position in favour of or against Iceland's accession to the European Union. The party has however concluded the following in a party policy on the European Union:[14]

  • Iceland must never become a member of the European Union unless the membership agreement is put to a referendum after having been presented to the nation in an impartial manner.
  • Should Iceland join the European Union, the country shall be a single constituency in elections to the European Parliament.
  • Should Iceland join the European Union, Icelandic shall be one of its official languages.
  • If negotiations on the accession of Iceland to the European Union halt, or membership is rejected by either party, a review of the agreement on the European Economic Area must be sought, to better ensure Iceland's self-determination. It is unacceptable that Iceland need to take up large part of European legislation through a business agreement without getting representatives or audience.
  • The conditions of Pirates for Iceland's membership to the European Union are that Iceland be exempt from adopting the Data Retention Directive (2006/24/EC – declared invalid by the European Court of Justice in April 2014[15]) and the regulation regarding enforcement of uncontested claims (1869/2005/EC), which would otherwise defy fundamental human rights.

Edward Snowden

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Main article: Edward Snowden

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Further information: Global surveillance disclosure

On 4 July 2013, a bill was introduced in parliament that would, if passed, immediately grant Edward Snowden Icelandic citizenship. The proposer of the bill was Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson (Pirate Party) and it was co-sponsored by the other Pirate Party parliament members, Ögmundur Jónasson (Left-Green Movement), Páll Valur Björnsson (Bright Future) and Helgi Hjörvar (Social Democratic Alliance).[16][17][18][19] A vote was taken to determine whether the bill would be put on parliament's agenda but it did not receive enough support.

Electoral results

Parliament

The elected representatives are Birgitta Jónsdóttir (Southwest), Ásta Helgadóttir (Reykjavik South) and Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson (Reykjavik North). Ásta Helgadóttir replaced Jón Þór Ólafsson part way through his term.

Election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Position Government
2013 Steady 9,647 Steady 5.10
3 / 63
Steady 3 Steady 6th Opposition

Municipalities

Hafnarfjordur Town

Election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Position Council
2014 Steady 754 Steady 6.70
0 / 11
Steady 0 Steady 5th Outside

Kopavogur Town

Election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Position Council
2014 Steady 554 Steady 4.04
0 / 11
Steady 0 Steady 6th Outside

Reykjanes Town

Election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Position Council
2014 Steady 173 Steady 2.48
0 / 11
Steady 0 Steady 6th Outside

Reykjavik City

The elected representative is Halldór Auðar Svansson.

Election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Position Council
2014 Steady 3,238 Steady 5.93
1 / 15
Steady 1 Steady 6th Coalition

References

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External links

  • Official website in Icelandic: http://www.piratar.is
  • Official website in English: http://www.piratar.is/?lang=en
  • Politics in Iceland: A beginner’s guide -- icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2016/03/09/politics_in_iceland_a_beginner_s_guide/
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