Pirate Party may get seats in German parliament!

[treelover]

'The Pirate party rises as German politics is all at sea

Were the Pirates to take 5% of the vote in 2013, it would be a game-changer for the party system. But what do they stand for?'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/11/pirate-party-german-politics

The Pirate Party in Germany's impending general election may get the magical 5% which would mean seats in Parliament, etc, but what do urbanites think of them? My own opinion(leaving aside their core message on internet freedom/piracy, etc) is that they are incredible vague, quite elitist(the net will save democracy, but what about those not on line?)n very male and frankly somewhat apolitical and Die Linke will suffer as a consequence of their rise...

 

[butchersapron]

It wouldn't be game changer at all. It'd be a game enforcer. Libertarian bollocks mostly.

 

[treelover]

aye, I know a few ex activists who would fit in very well..

 

[Idris2002]

I suspect the Piraten and Die Linke are not in competition for the same votes. Die Linke are quite big round here (ex-DDR chemical town): there local MP is a dead ringer for David Ervine.

 

[rekil]

I asked someone about this a while ago and they said there's former CDU and FDP youth involved. The FDP are getting wiped out electorally everywhere. Plus, there's a couple of ex-NPD types in there somewhere.

ETA: Spiegel article

Valentin Seipt, an IT systems engineer, resigned as regional chairman of the Pirate Party in Freising near Munich after the NPD said on Sunday that he had been previously been its regional deputy leader.

In the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Matthias Bahner, a member of the Pirate Party's regional board, admitted in a statement that he joined the NPD in 2003 when he was 18, and left it a year later.

[....]

Grassroots members seem unfazed by the reports about former NPD membership, and this relaxed approach poses a risk because it makes the Pirates vulnerable to attack from parties jealous of their success.

"This approach could open them up to criticism," sad Jürgen Falter, a political analyst. "The Greens in particular will turn it into an issue because they fear the Pirates." The Pirate Party would be well advised to "clean up the problem, otherwise they will suffer heavily from this."

But it doesn't seem to be in a hurry. One member, Bodo Thiesen, repeatedly cited Holocaust deniers in Internet forums and voiced doubts himself about the mass murder of the Jews. The national leadership of the party approved proceedings to expel Thiesen, but the process has dragged on for two years now.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

I think they could do well and steal a lot of the young FPD and Green vote, especially the straight white, young male frustrated middle or ex-middle class vote.

They're rubbish, but it would be funny to see the Libdems sister party kicked out of the Bundestag because of them.

 

[frogwoman]

i met a pirate party member on a train going back from work once. he was all right and quite interesting to talk to - but like you say quite middle class/libertarian type politics, mostly single issue about the internet etc rather than anything else. didn't really seem to have an opinion on cuts etc ...

 

[Delroy Booth]

How can you be a libertarian and support piracy? Either support private property rights or don't, can't have it both ways.