Wind In Their Sails – Pirate Party Support Growing Nationally and Internationally

After effectively winning two seats in the European Election, it seems that support for the party has only grown both during and after the election on a national level and international level.

Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes

The support for the Pirate Party on an international level has sailed to historic record support in many places. The German Pirate Party during the EU election, for instance, obtained 0.9% support. Meanwhile, it seems that the success at the European election has allowed the party to gain a certain amount of new-found support on the homeland as well.

According to a report from TheLocal, the Swedish Pirate Party during the EU election, a poll conducted over which party they would support for the Swedish parliament, during the days leading up to the European election, the Pirate Party had gotten 2.7% support. Then, shortly after the election, 5% of the Swedish population said that they would support the Pirate Party.

The question is, how far would 5% go in Swedish politics? To put that into perspective, a Wikipedia article says that during the 2006 election, the Green Party won 5.24%, enough votes to win 19 seats. So why bring this up now? Not only is it a positive development for the Pirate Party, but the next election in Sweden is going to take place on September 19, 2010. That’s more than a year away, but if support for the party is maintained (or grown for that matter), the party easily stands to win seats in the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament).

Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.