Pirate Party (Iceland) Explained

Pirate Party
Native Name:Píratar
Chairperson:Rotating
Leader1 Title:Chief executive officer
Leader1 Name:Kristín Ólafsdóttir
Leader2 Title:Board of directors chairperson
Leader2 Name:Atli Stefán Yngvason
Founded:24 November 2012
Headquarters:Síðumúli 23, 108 Reykjavík
Youth Wing:Ungir Piratar
Membership Year:2023
Membership:5,069[1]
European:European Pirate Party
Colours:
Purple and black
Symbol:P

The Pirate Party (Icelandic: Píratar) is a political party in Iceland. The party's platform is based on pirate politics and direct democracy.[2] The party was founded on 24 November 2012 and ran for the first time in the 2013 parliamentary election.

History

The Icelandic Pirate Party was founded on 24 November 2012 by Smári McCarthy and several Internet activists, including Birgitta Jónsdóttir (previously a member of the Movement).[3] [4] [5] The party successfully applied for the ballot list letter Þ (resembling the party's logo) in order to run in the 2013 election. In July 2016, the party requested and was issued the letter P for future elections.

In their first electoral participation, at 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. 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.[6] [7]

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 The laws, which had been introduced in 1940, were successfully repealed in early July 2015.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".[8] 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.[9]

For around a year from April 2015 to April 2016, the party consistently topped polling for the next Icelandic parliamentary election in 2016, with support roughly equal to the Independence Party and the Progressive Party combined, who were at the time partners in a coalition government.[10] [11] [12]

An MMR opinion poll published in January 2016 put their public support at 37.8%, significantly above that of all other Icelandic political parties.[13]

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)".[14] 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%.[15]

A poll by the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Iceland with data from 1419 October 2016 put the Pirate Party in first place in the general election on 29 October 2016 with 22.6% of the vote.[16]

The party significantly underperformed in the 2016 election. While they saw a major increase in vote share and seats, they finished in third place behind the Independence Party and Left-Greens with 14.5% of the vote; almost a third of what some had polls shown at the beginning of the year.[17]

In the 2017 election held a year later, the Pirates fell to sixth place, winning 9.2% of the vote and losing four seats. The Pirates held pat in the 2021 election, winning six seats and remaining in sixth position.

Issue stances

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:[18]

Edward Snowden

See main article: Edward Snowden.

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).[20] [21] [22] [23] A vote was taken to determine whether the bill would be put on parliament's agenda but it did not receive enough support.

Other

The party stated in its 2021 policy agenda that it wants to in the future transition the government support structure towards an unconditional basic income.[24] The party also stated its support for harm reduction and the decriminalisation of drug use, instead focusing on building support systems for those with problems and housing homeless addicts.

Electoral results

Parliament

ElectionVotes%Seats+/–PositionGovernment
20139,6485.10 3 6th
201627,46614.48 7 3rd
201718,0539.20 4 6th
202117,2338.63 0 6th

Municipalities

Akureyri Town

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2018 377 4.3 0 7thOutside
2022 280 3.1 0 9thOutside

Árborg Municipality

The currently elected representative is Álfheiður Eymarsdóttir.

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2018 376 8.5 0 5th
2022 390 7.9 0 4th

Hafnarfjörður Town

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2018 754 6.70 0 8thOutside
2022 784 6.1 0 4thOutside

Kópavogur Town

The currently elected representative is Sigurbjörg Erla Egilsdóttir.

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2014 554 4.04 0 6thOutside
2018 1,080 6.8 1 5th
2022 1,562 9.5 0 5th

Mosfellsbær Town

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2018 369 7.9 0 7thOutside
2022did not participate

Reykjanes Town

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2014 173 2.48 0 6thOutside
2018 380 6.0 0 7thOutside
2022 275 4.1 0 6thOutside

Reykjavík City

The currently elected representatives are Dóra Björt Guðjónsdóttir, Alexandra Briem and Magnús Davíð Norðdahl.

Election
  1. of
    overall votes
% of
overall vote
  1. of
    overall seats won
+/–PositionCouncil
2014 3,238 5.93 1 6th
2018 4,556 7.7 1 4th
2022 6,970 11.6 1 4th

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Samúel Karl Ólason . 10 April 2015 . Píratar hafa ekki undan fjölda nýskráninga . 12 April 2016 . visir.is.
  2. Book: Political Handbook of the World 2015 . SAGE Publications . 2015 . 978-1-4833-7155-9 . Tom Lansford . 2684.
  3. News: Jacobsen . Stine . Iceland's Pirates head for power on wave of public anger . en-GB . Reuters UK . 2016-10-31.
  4. News: Andrew Reitemeyer . 25 November 2012 . Iceland has a Pirate Party . Pirate Times . Reykjavik, Iceland . dead . 2 May 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121129104211/http://piratetimes.net/iceland-has-a-pirate-party . 29 November 2012.
  5. News: 24 November 2012 . Píratar halda stofnfund . is . Pirate Party holds an establishment meeting . Árvakur hf. . Reykjavik, Iceland . 3 March 2013.
  6. Steadman . Ian . 29 April 2013 . Iceland's Pirate Party scrapes in at national elections . dead . . https://web.archive.org/web/20160318230020/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/29/pirate-party-victory . 18 March 2016 . 24 December 2015.
  7. Book: Eirikur Bergmann . Iceland and the International Financial Crisis: Boom, Bust and Recovery . Palgrave Macmillan UK . 2014 . 978-1-137-33200-4 . 174.
  8. News: Rawlinson . Kevin . 3 July 2015 . Iceland repeals blasphemy ban after Pirate party campaign . The Guardian . 30 October 2015.
  9. News: Neuman . Scott . 3 July 2015 . Iceland's Pirate Party Wins Repeal Of Blasphemy Law . National Public Radio . 30 October 2015.
  10. News: Ward . Alexander . 3 May 2015 . Pirate Party surges in polls to become biggest political party in Iceland . The Independent . 30 October 2015.
  11. News: Roberts . Zoe . 4 August 2015 . Pirates Largest Party Fourth Month in Row . Iceland Review . 30 October 2015.
  12. News: Van der Sar . Ernesto . 23 October 2015 . Pirate Party Beats Iceland's Government Coalition in the Polls . . 30 October 2015.
  13. News: 26 January 2016 . Iceland's Pirate Party takes big lead in polls ahead of election next year . The Independent . 26 January 2016.
  14. Web site: Cory Doctorow . Cory Doctorow . 2016-04-07 . Fearing the Pirate Party, Iceland's government scrambles to avoid elections . 2016-08-14 . Boing Boing.
  15. News: Björnsson . Anna Margrét . 6 April 2016 . Almost half of Icelandic nation now want the Pirate Party . Iceland Monitor . 6 April 2016.
  16. News: New poll puts Pirates back on course to win Iceland elections . Iceland Monitor . 2016-10-23.
  17. https://www.adn.com/arctic/2016/10/31/icelands-prime-minister-resigns-after-pirate-party-makes-strong-gains/ Iceland’s prime minister resigns, after Pirate Party makes strong gains
  18. Web site: 2013 . Evrópusambandið . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131019050041/http://www.piratar.is/stefnumal/evropusambandid/ . 19 October 2013 . 22 December 2013 . Pirate Party Iceland . is . Það er ekki hlutverk stjórnmálaflokka að taka afstöðu með eða á móti aðild en aftur á móti eiga þeir að vera undirbúnir undir hvora niðurstöðuna sem er..
  19. The Court of Justice declares the Data Retention Directive to be invalid . 8 April 2014 . Court of Justice of the European Union . Luxembourg .
  20. News: Boði Logason . 4 July 2013 . Snowden-frumvarp lagt fram á Alþingi . is . Snowden-bill introduced in Althing . . Reykjavik, Iceland . 4 July 2013 . Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Birgitta Jónsdóttir og Jón Þór Ólafsson þingmenn Pírata, Ögmundur Jónasson þingmaður Vinstri grænna, Páll Valur Björnsson þingmaður Bjartrar framtíðar og Helgi Hjörvar þingmaður Samfylkingarinnar hafa lagt fram frumvarp á Alþingi um að bandaríska uppljóstraranum Edward Snowden verði tafarlaust veittur íslenskur ríkisborgararéttur..
  21. News: 4 July 2013 . Vilja gera Snowden að íslenskum ríkisborgara . is . Want to make Snowden an Icelandic citizen . Árvakur hf. . Reykjavik, Iceland . 4 July 2013 . Fyrsti flutningsmaður er Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, þingmaður Pírata, en meðflutningsmenn eru samflokksmenn hans Birgitta Jónsdóttir og Jón Þór Ólafsson ásamt Ögmundi Jónassyni, þingmanni Vinstrihreyfingarinnar - græns framboðs, Helga Hjörvar, þingmanni Samfylkingarinnar, og Páli Val Björnssyni, þingmann Bjartrar framtíðar..
  22. News: 4 July 2013 . Fær mögulega ríkisborgararétt . is . Receives possibly Icelandic citizenship . DV ehf. . Reykjavik, Iceland . dead . 4 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130706201340/http://www.dv.is/frettir/2013/7/4/faer-mogulega-rikisborgararett/ . 6 July 2013 . Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Jón Þór Ólafsson, Ögmundur Jónasson, Páll Valur Björnsson og Helgi Hjörvar eru flutningsmenn frumvarpsins. Allir þingmenn Pírata eru flutningsmenn frumvarpsins enda eðlilegt í ljósi þess að samtökin Wikileaks hafa aðstoðað Snowden frá því að hann kom fram..
  23. News: 4 July 2013 . Snowden-frumvarp lagt fram á þingi . is . Snowden-bill introduced in parliament . Eyjan Media ehf. . Kopavogur, Iceland . dead . 4 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131112234927/http://eyjan.pressan.is/frettir/2013/07/04/snowden-frumvarp-lagt-fram-a-thingi/ . 12 November 2013 . Að frumvarpinu standa Píratarnir Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Birgitta Jónsdóttir og Jón Þór Ólafsson, Ögmundur Jónasson, VG, Páll Valur Björnsson, Bjartri Framtíð og Helgi Hjörvar, Samfylkingunni..
  24. Web site: Policy agenda 2021 . 12 February 2023 . Pirate Party (Iceland).

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