Like a storm wind out of nothing they came, boarding the European ship with their agenda of free file sharing on the web. Telling the world that a new generation now has a place in the elite club of the EU.
'I didn't believe it to be possible!' says party leader and founder Rickard Falkvinge when interviewed after the results where clear. When Swedish TV broadcast live from their gathering, party members bellowed so loud that the reporter had difficulty hearing her own words. 'We are going to Europe! We are going to Europe!' they cried and added a timely 'Arr Arr!' The excitement went even further when they where told that the Pirate Party is now Sweden's third largest political party, in terms of members. And the most popular with those under 30 years.
The Pirate Party has gained tremendous popularity recently, ever since its founding in January 2006 as a protest to the crackdown on the free file sharing of copyrighted webcontent. And specially after the Pirate Bay verdict in april 2009, against the hugely popular torrent tracking website the Pirate Bay, they gained 3000 members in just 7 hours. Their political manifesto is clear and simple; it strives to reform laws regarding copyright and patents wanting a 5 year limit to these, strengthening the right to privacy both privately and on the web, wanting less public surveillance, and the transparency of state administration. The Party is not that occupied with other political matters, saying that they will vote with the other parties in the European Parliament in such cases, choosing who serves them best at the time.
Party leader Falkvinge says that 'something great has happened today! It tells the world that it is not OK to infringe on peoples privacy by monitoring their conversations, their online chats and surfing of the web. It infects the lifestyle of the young, and they have understood this', and that 'we have sent a signal to the politicians of Europe and will make them understand this as well'.
The first case the Pirate Party will address at the parliament is the Telecoms Reform Package of the EU, that is about personal freedom online. But they do not plan to stop at this. The Party has ambitions to gain even more and to create a broader movement on a world basis. We wish them all the best.
The Jolly Roger has been hoisted.