Pirates Trying To Form New Icelandic Government

All year long, there have been reports talking about how the Pirate Party in Iceland were poised to take control over the Icelandic government in the elections. Many publications acted like it was a foregone conclusion. However, if anything should be obvious this year, what the polls and the press are telling you about likely outcomes of elections should be taken with a large grain of salt. So we didn't report on it -- even after the election when the Pirate Party did well, but still came in third place. However, with the top two parties failing to build a coalition to form a new government, the Iceland Pirates have been given a shot and they're hard at work trying to build a coalition that will form the government.

Of course, this still isn't a guarantee -- and there's already talk of having to hold another election, but hopefully the Pirates can put together something. While it does feel like many people involved in Pirate Parties have underestimated what it actually takes to govern, it would certainly be interesting -- especially in Iceland -- to see what they could do.

The party appears to be taking a measured approached to a task viewed by many as exceeding urgent and pressing. Members of the parliamentary party spent all weekend discussing the issues between themselves, with no representatives of any other parties involved.

"We don't want this this to be a rushed or botched job. We want to do things properly," says Pirate MP Einar Aialsteinn Brynjolfsson.

"Of course, it is time for a new government to be formed - otherwise we could be heading for a constitutional crisis. The current government is a caretaker government with a limited mandate."

Hopefully the parties can work out their differences and create a coalition government led by the Pirates. Icleand has swung back and forth on the pendulum of supporting true internet freedom in the past, but having the Pirates in charge could lead to some interesting and worthwhile experiments. And, in an age where too much reasonable anger at old line politicians is being directed towards ultra-nationalistic campaigners who tend to look backwards rather than forward, it will be worthwhile to see what a party with a truly forward looking agenda could accomplish.

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