Icelandic Píratar On Final Approach To Election Victory

Pirate Parties: A new poll today places the Icelandic Pirate Party in parliament, with their election three weeks out. This follows a continuous and rapid ascent for the Icelandic Pirate Party. The poll will probably have the additional effect of putting the media spotlights on the party, further accelerating its growth.

The poll gives the Icelandic Píratar 5.6% of the votes, translating to four seats in the Icelandic Parliament. This growth is nothing short of phenomenal, even within the Pirate Party movement, and it would seem that the Icelandic pirates will be the first to put people in a regular, proportional, national-level parliament. (Sweden was first with the European Parliament, Germany was first with state-level parliament, and the Czech pirates were first with a senator.)

I predict that this will have the exact same effect as happened when the Swedish Pirate Party was first polling at parliamentary levels a month ahead of the European elections in 2009, and when the Berlin Pirate Party was first polling at parliamentary levels ahead of the Berlin state elections in 2011. Tons of media spotlights turn to focus on the newcomer darling, at which point support surges further. The Icelandic elections are on April 27.

Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s a done deal. Success is possible and even probable if all activists keep working like crazy between now and the election, and no monumental screw-up takes place. It’s only with sustained activism between now and the election that success looks probable.

The Icelandic Pirate Party is led by Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who is known for her work with WikiLeaks and the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative. She is currently serving as Member of Parliament in Iceland (elected for The Movement in 2009).

Also, remember that the Croatian Pirates are polling at 6.4% and may get a seat in the European Parliament in their April 14 elections! They are requesting last-minute donations (and other forms of assistance) to succeed with the last push and become the second country with pirates in the European Parliament, which would be another important milestone for the movement.