REYKJAVIK — Iceland, a nation of seafarers, has been stormed by pirates.
They won’t be forming the government, but the online freedom advocates, the Pirate Party, were still big winners in the country’s election.
The party took 5.1 percent of the vote in Saturday’s poll, gaining three of the 63 seats in parliament.
It is the biggest electoral trophy yet for a movement founded seven years ago in Sweden by a group of rebellious file-sharing geeks and hackers.
Pirate policies include a direct-democracy project that will put ideas suggested by citizens before parliament, and passing laws intended to make Iceland a global beacon of media freedom.
Pirate lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir says the party is « the political arm of the information revolution, » dedicated to freedom of expression and political transparency, online and off.