After establishing itself just two years ago, the Pirate Party is now thought to be the most popular in Iceland.
The party’s rise in popularity has been dramatic, and it is now ahead of the rest in one particular poll.
The Pirate Party’s idea was taken from Sweden; it advocates direct democracy, net neutrality, anti-corruption and freedom of information. Since launching, similar parties have sprung up all around the world.
However, the North Atlantic island’s Pirate Party are the first Pirate Party to win a parliamentary seat. Using the UK as a comparison, the party gained an average of just 0.34 per cent in the 2010 general election vote in the nine constituencies they ran in.
The polling suggests that if a vote were to take place today in Iceland, the Pirate Party would win with 23.9 per cent of the votes, ahead of the Independence Party with 23.4 per cent. Previously, the latter has polled the highest throughout the whole history of Iceland.
The reason for the party’s popularity seems to be a lack of trust in other groups, with Pirate Party MP Birgitta Jonsdottir, admitting that they were surprised about how popular they have become in such a short time. She went on to say that traditional politics were not progressing and people seemed tired of waiting for change.