Confidence fills the offices of Sweden’s upstart Pirate Party thanks to their recent victory in the EU elections. Now, the youthful political party is focusing its sights on Sweden’s government.
The group has announced that not only will it be running in next year’s general national election, but it will also field contestants in local council elections. Rick Falkvinge, the leader of the Pirates, wrote in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper “The Pirate Party is needed to protect citizens’ integrity and private lives against surveillance-minded and information-gathering populist authorities, even on a local political level.”
Falkvinge cited government mandates like the requirement to show identification to search for information at public libraries and public transport registration of the movements of its passengers as personal liberty infringements that need to be addressed.
The domestic platform of the Pirate Party is to change Swedish legislation to encourage the evolution of the information society, which is characterised by openness and diversity, according to The Local.
Among its initiatives, the group wants to introduce open source software in Swedish schools, expand the public’s right to access information, and encourage the government to improve its national security. In a bid to assure voters the Pirates are not just a bunch of computer-addicted hacks, Falkvinge states that only the very brightest members will be allowed to run in local elections.
See more at Swedish newsource, The Local.