Pirate Party Gets Its First Mayor

from the but,-no,-it's-not-a-serious-party dept

Thu, May 10th 2012 3:01am — Mike Masnick

We've been talking a bit about the rise of the Pirate Party (mainly in parts of Europe) and how it may change politics, even if the party itself never goes mainstream. However, the party continues to score victories, especially in Germany. The latest, while not an electoral victory, involves the mayor of the town of Eixen, who has changed his affiliation from nothing to Pirate Party -- meaning that the Pirate Party now has a mayor.

Mayor Andre Bonitz, who was elected in 2009, has switched from being non-partisan to the Pirate Party of Germany. For the citizen itself nothing changes in the first place, but that the newly converted mayor have announced to start a regular pirate meeting open to everyone, where the people can discuss with him and fellow pirates directly.

I'm sure some will mock this as not important or bandwagon jumping or something else -- and to some extent, all of that may be true. But it is another sign of just how much The Pirate Party has been able to shake up politics in Germany.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: andre bonitz, germany, the pirate party

26 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 3:35am

The "ignore us" stage is well over.

Still at the "laughing at us" stage.

But they are starting the "fight us" stage.

How does that saying end ?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 4:15am
  
  Re:
  Then they buy the legislative and executive branches and we lose?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jake, 10 May 2012 @ 4:17am
  
  Re:
  That phrase was coined when the militant left (insofar as that dichotomy makes a lick of sense anymore) was as comfortable with the idea of going out and breaking some heads as the militant right. Let's not get complacent, huh?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 4:49am
  
  Response to: Anonymous Coward on May 10th, 2012 @ 3:35am
  Next stage: "and then we win"
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Francisco George (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 5:04am
    
    Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on May 10th, 2012 @ 3:35am
    Yep right...in Spain Pirates already managed to put one Pirate in a city council...small steps...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Watchit (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:41pm
      
      Re: Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on May 10th, 2012 @ 3:35am
      That's awesome :D
      Have any advice for new pirate party members in the U.S.?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Atkray (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 9:21am
  
  Re:
  Profit
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 4:27am

"...and to some extent, all of that may be true."
To what extent, exactly?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- The eejit (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 4:31am
  
  Re: "...and to some extent, all of that may be true."
  To some extent. GOD, can't you read?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - God, 10 May 2012 @ 4:34am
    
    Re: Re: "...and to some extent, all of that may be true."
    I don't need to read, son.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Watchit (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:44pm
  
  Re: "...and to some extent, all of that may be true."
  "I'm sure some will mock this as not important or bandwagon jumping or something else -- and to some extent, all of that may be true."
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 4:39am

it may well be happening slowly, but change is happening. people are totally fed up with the way their interests and concerns are completely ignored in favour of big business, big corporations, self-serving governments and 'i dont give a shit about you now' politicians!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 4:47am

Over the last couple of years i have writing to my various MEPs about ACTA etc.. what was often mentioned by them was that the only serious research and information about these topics was coming from the Pirate Party. Pro ACTA information, they said , had no basis in fact. I think they are doing really well, really quickly.

The Pirate Party may have a daft name but at least its not as uninspiring as 'Labour'.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 5:43am

England really needs a more noticable Pirate Party. One is there, but it's bacically non-existant and most people don't even know it exists. It's starting to seem like it could be a possibility now...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Squig (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 10:40am
  
  Re:
  PPUK ran for the last municipal elections in a few select cities, getting 3-5% where they ran (Giving hope for the next EP elections). They are in dire need of activists, maybe you should consider joining them?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 5:59am

America needs a viable 3rd party...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- mikey4001, 10 May 2012 @ 6:17am
  
  Re:
  America needs a viable party.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Dark Helmet (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 6:26am
    
    Re: Re:
    America needs to fight for its right to party.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 3:55pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Partying often involves playing music without paying a license fee ...
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 11 May 2012 @ 7:48am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        playing music without paying a license fee makes you cool
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Watchit (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:45pm
  
  Re:
  Americans need to break out of the two party system.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2012 @ 7:26am

I'm sure some will mock this as not important or bandwagon jumping or something else -- and to some extent, all of that may be true.

OK, I'll be the first then. If the guy ran as a member of the Pirate Party, I'd say it's noteworthy. But he didn't. Let's see what happens in the next election before you anoint the Pirate Party's beer hall putsch a success.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Squig (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 10:41am
  
  Re:
  It looks like the PP movement is strong and appealing enough to get independent successful (albeit on a municipal level) to join us. That is something. Not the same as an election success, but still.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Watchit (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:45pm
  
  Re:
  Baby steps :D
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:13pm

It doesn't matter whether he's just jumping onto the bandwagon. The fact that there's a bandwagon to jump onto is significant in itself.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 May 2012 @ 3:28am

Here is another piece about the Pirate Party's success in the regional elections last week, and an analysis of their current state.

http://knowfuture.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/more-booty-for-the-pirate-party-in-germany/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]