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, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 05 2016, @01:32PM
Iceland also withdrew her application [www.aecr.eu] for 'ascension' into the EU last year, as did Switzerland [breitbart.com] ("Only Lunatics Would Join Now") earlier this year.
Both events were significantly downplayed by the 'world media' (that is controlled by the same half a dozen guys).
Icelanders may learn that People Can Never Get What They Want: Iceland is too dependent on a goodwill of world capital for too many necessities
You are clearly unfamiliar with the dominant Scandinavian mentality: you will discover that Scandinavians are far, far less greedy than your average "world capital" wealth-driven yes man.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday October 05 2016, @03:26PM
It seems to me the Scandinavians would be better off if they seceded from the EU (they already don't use the Euro for currency), and then created their own union.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 05 2016, @05:44PM
It's called "accession" not "ascension".
(Score: 3, Funny) by fubari on Wednesday October 05 2016, @09:47PM
Thank you, thought I was reading a StarGate spoiler for a moment.