Iceland's Pirate Party Poised to Shake Up Elections

Iceland’s Pirate Party, an anti-establishment group devoted to government transparency, direct democracy, and Internet freedom, emerged over the summer months as a leading contender to gain control of Iceland’s government in upcoming parliamentary elections. According to Iceland Monitor, members of Iceland’s parliament, known as the Althing, assembled on August 11 and called for early parliamentary elections to be held on October 29. While elections for the Althing had originally been scheduled for the spring of 2017, early elections were negotiated as a compromise between establishment and anti-establishment forces in April.

At the time, former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson had recently resigned from his post after the Panama Papers revealed that he had been implicated in a tax evasion scandal. The Pirate Party and other anti-establishment groups agreed to accept an establishment replacement for Gunnlaugsson, but only in return for earlier parliamentary elections in order to capitalize on present support.

In April, the Pirate Party’s chances of gaining control of Iceland’s parliament seemed promising. A market research group in Iceland reported that the group’s popularity had soared to nearly 40 percent in February. However, the online news group Kjarninn reported falling poll numbers in June, estimating that just over 28 percent of Icelanders would support the Pirate Party in upcoming elections. An August poll by Iceland Monitor revealed that the Pirate Party’s favorability had fallen even further to 26 percent as it vies with Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson’s center-right, incumbent coalition. Johannsson’s Independence Party is currently polling at 24 percent.

Despite falling poll numbers, the Pirate Party appears primed to shake up Iceland’s upcoming elections. The Pirate Party only first gained representation in the Althing in 2013, when it won three  of 63 available seats. That over a quarter of Icelandic voters intend to vote for the Pirate Party today undoubtedly represents a sharp spike in the group’s standing.

Indeed, the Pirate Party has tapped into growing discontent among the Icelandic populous. With proposals that Icelandic citizenship be offered to NSA-whistleblower Edward Snowden and that membership in the European Union be accepted only if Iceland is exempt from data retention laws, the Pirate Party successfully appeals to young Icelanders who are protective of free online expression.

Birgitta Jonsdottir, a Pirate Party leader, affirmed in an August interview with Bloomberg that a government led by her party “will be a different type of government.” Whether the Pirate Party will convince voters of this fact remains to be seen.