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A party that hangs a skull-and-crossbones flag at its HQ, and promises to clean up corruption, grant asylum to Edward Snowden and accept the bitcoin virtual currency, could be on course to form the next Icelandic government.
The Pirate Party has found a formula that has eluded many anti-establishment groups across Europe. It has tempered polarising policies like looser copyright enforcement rules and drug decriminalisation with pledges of economic stability that have won confidence among voters.
This has allowed it to ride a wave of public anger at perceived corruption among the political elite - the biggest election issue in a country where a 2008 banking collapse hit thousands of savers and government figures have been mired in an offshore tax furore following the Panama Papers leaks.
The left-leaning party is part of a global anti-establishment typified by Britain's vote to leave the European Union. But their platform is far removed from the anti-immigration policies of the UK Independence Party, France's National Front and Germany's AfD, or the anti-austerity of Greece's Syriza.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iceland-election-idUKKCN11Z1RV
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 05 2016, @01:08PM
Not only that, but third parties in the US are basically thwarted by countless unfair rules (like for ballot access) designed to keep third parties out, even on the local level, and even in small cities. There are some third parties and independent candidates that have positions in local areas, but for the most part it's nearly impossible because of how poorly designed and corrupt our political system is. So I am impressed by the Pirate Party, and Iceland's system clearly puts ours to shame, even though I'm sure it also has its flaws.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Wednesday October 05 2016, @02:07PM
because of how poorly designed and corrupt our political system is.
It's designed fine; it's just designed for purposes other than the ones we want :P
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by HiThere on Wednesday October 05 2016, @06:37PM
Ballot access isn't the problem. It was a minor problem at one time, but not recently. The real problem is structural. The election system is designed as plurality wins, no majority required. This is a huge problem This means that if there are four significant parties, than a candidate who gets 25.0001% of the vote can win. And this is a HUGE barrier to entry, as you've got to be equally repulsed by both of the standard parties before voting for a minor party is a good idea. Instant Runoff and Condorcet voting solve this problem at the cost of increasing information overload. Which is a big problem, but less of a problem than the current system where both major parties try to pick a candidate abhorrent to 40% of the population so they'll get 60% of the vote. And nobody will vote for a minor party because then Kabg (or Kodos) might get in.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 05 2016, @08:38PM
Instant Runoff and Condorcet voting solve this problem at the cost of /increasing information overload/.
Yeah, cry me a river [ballotpedia.org]. Still, I appreciate that California's system allows for something closer to a direct referendum on issues.