So, Sweden’s Pirate Party has won one of the country’s 18 seats in the EU parliament, campaigning on the issues of free file-sharing for all on the net – and also increased user privacy.
No doubt the high-profile Pirate Bay trial has raised public awareness on the topic within Sweden and also worked to help mobilise young people to vote on an issue they cared about, where possibly they might simply have not bothered (the 18-25 demographic is hardly notorious for massive turnouts at elections).
Anyway there are basically two things that make the result an especially interesting one for me:
1. Firstly, I am impressed that an issue such as this can be discussed and debated to this extent in mainstream Swedish politics – it says a lot about the high level of web and computer literacy and awareness among the general population.
After all, the party took around 7% of the popular vote – quite amazing considering that in the UK (and elsewhere) you might struggle to find that many people who even care about the issue to any extent – though yes, there are more important things to discuss at election time – i’m not suggesting we should forget the economy to discuss torrents, just that it doesn’t hurt to also be clued up on web matters as well ;)
2. Secondly, I am relieved that there are at least some countries in the EU where a protest vote has not necessarily equated to a surge in support for extreme right-wing groups. Unlike the depressing success of the BNP here in the UK, Sweden’s shock result was the Pirate’s success in winning a seat. Nonetheless it is scant consolation for the fact that the BNP’s MEPS Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons are now receiving £80,000+ a year salaries and more than double that in office running costs from EU taxpayers…
Ah well, i’m getting sidetracked – let’s finish with a good luck wish to the Pirate Party in Sweden: whatever your stance, it’s hard to argue that rising levels of web awareness (a sure-fire consequence of the Swedish result) is a bad thing. Well done mateys!
Dejan Levi