The Pirate Party took 8.9% of the vote in Berlin's regional election. 15 members won seats.
The Pirates have navigated their way to government. They have captured 15 seats in the German state assembly winning 8.9 percent of votes in Sunday’s election humiliating major parties such as the Free Democrats.
The party, which began in Sweden five years ago, has had success in local elections. In Berlin their anti-establishment election campaign was a hit with younger voters.
While issues like online privacy and data protection may seem incredibly narrow, even irrelevant, to older voters, for young people who often spend half their waking hours online, much of it on social networking sites where they share their most intimate moments, it is anything but a small issue.
The party has broadened its initial platform, which focused on file sharing, censorship and data protection to include other social issues, advocating the Internet as a tool to empower the electorate and engage it in the political and legislative process.
The Pirates’ call for complete transparency in politics resonates powerfully with the new generation of voters.
Read factlets by:
RSS feed
Email feed
