Prepare For the Pirates – Direct Democracy Driven Political Party May Gain Power in Iceland

We are not here to gain power, we are here to distribute power.

– sta Guthrn Helgadttir Pirate member of Iceland’s Parliament
While there are all sorts of populist political movements gaining traction across the West, the only one I find genuinely revolutionary and distinctly interesting and productive is Iceland’s Pirate Party.
I’ve covered the upstart party in the past, most recently earlier this year in the post, ‘The Pirates Are Coming’ – Iceland’s Pirate Party Polls at 43% Following the PM’s Resignation. Now, with the Icelandic election just days away (October 29th), the party is back in the news due to an expected strong performance.
The Washington Post explains:
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND – The party that could be on the cusp of winning Iceland’s national elections on Saturday didn’t exist four years ago.
Its members are a collection of anarchists, hackers, libertarians and Web geeks. It sets policy through online polls – and thinks the government should do the same. It wants to make Iceland ‘a Switzerland of bits,’ free of digital snooping. It has offered Edward Snowden a new place to call home.

This post was published at Liberty Blitzkrieg on Oct 26, 2016.