After I joked just yesterday about launching a Pirate Party for the upcoming elections, the results of the Finnish general election arrived in my email inbox with a small “ding” earlier this morning:
And, as you can see, the vote was fairly evenly split between the top three parties, including the somewhat defeatist National Coalition Party (motto: “We’ll never get enough votes to govern on our own”).
Mind you, they were right.
There are a couple of other interesting points in there too: the dramatic collapse (81% in the number of votes) for the Senior Citizens Party, presumably due to the deaths of most of their voters since the last election in 2007.
Also note the stability of support for the Swedish People’s Party. It seems that there are still approximately 126,000 Swedes living in Finland.
Change 2011 didn’t get enough votes to force through their election promise to “change 2011”, though analysts believe that this was mainly due to a concerned public not knowing what they were going to change it into. Watch and learn, Helen: communication is everything.
But look there: slap bang in the middle with 15,164 votes – an incredible 15,164 more than they managed in 2007 – is the Pirate Party of Finland. And as their leader, Pasi Palmulehto says:
Tervetuloa tutustumaan Piraattipuolueen toimintaan! Olemme pyrkineet kokoamaan sivuillemme mahdollisimman kattavan paketin tietoa ajatuksistamme, toiminnastamme ja tavoitteistamme. Kuitenkin paras tapa piraattien pääkopan sisälle pääsyyn on tulla käymään piraattien paikallisiin tapaamisiin ja vaihtamaan ajatuksia verkkoyhteisöissämme.
Toivon ajatusmaailmaamme tutustumisen auttavan kutakin kyseenalaistamaan vanhentuneita käsityksiä ja löytämään oman sisäisen piraattinsa.
Indeed, Pasi – I will be looking for my inner pirate!
They even have their own Youth League – the Piraattinuoret. I wonder if they like sushi?
You couldn’t make it up. And, let’s face it, you wouldn’t even know if I had.
(which I haven’t)
Their aim, from what I understand, is not to govern but rather to have a say in copyrights and privacy laws and such.
“The party strives to reform laws regarding copyright and patents. The agenda also includes support for a strengthening of the right to privacy, both on the Internet and res extensa (physical life), and the transparency of state administration.[3]”
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International
Jeremy > Yes, so I understand. But quite confusing when you look at their stated aims: Privacy and Freedom of information.
Perhaps they should rather be called “Piracy And Freedom Of Expression”?
Jeremy > That would surely confuse the electorate.