From TorrentFreak:
Pirate Party Wins and Enters The European ParliamentVery cool -- pay the artists and composers, not the media corporations. Legitimize personal file sharing. Remove DRM. Makes a lot of sense -- I share files with people from time to time, if there is a song I think someone would like or if I hear something that I like. The idea of being able to buy a song for $0.99 from iTunes is pure genius. Considering the gains that the conservatives are also making, there is hope yet...
When the Swedish Pirate Party was founded in early 2006, the majority of the mainstream press were skeptical, with some simply laughing it away. But they were wrong to dismiss this political movement out of hand. Today, the Pirate Party accomplished what some believed to be the impossible, by securing a seat in the European Parliament.
With 99.9% of the districts counted the Pirates have 7.1 percent of the votes, beating several established parties. This means that the Pirate Party will get at least one, but most likely two of the 18 (+2) available seats Sweden has at the European Parliament.
When we asked Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge about the outcome, he told TorrentFreak: �We�ve felt the wind blow in our sails. We�ve seen the polls prior to the election. But to stand here, today, and see the figures coming up on that screen� What do you want me to say? I�ll say anything�
�Together, we have today changed the landscape of European politics. No matter how this night ends, we have changed it,� Falkvinge said. �This feels wonderful. The citizens have understood it�s time to make a difference. The older politicians have taken apart young peoples� lifestyle, bit by bit. We do not accept that the authorities� mass-surveillance,� he added.
I think you may be misunderstanding the pirate party. Their goal is to eliminate copyrights and patents. It's not really to "pay the artists and composers" via stuff like iTunes.... it's that "all data is free." That's scary stuff if you've ever made a living doing anything with computers.
They are anti-capitalism to the core. They are left of the Swedish socialists... Almost a Socialist/anarchist combo.
...and remember: the media corporations, while they have done some bone headed things, do have lots of skin in the game. There's a reason they get their cut. For example: making a movie isn't exactly cheap.
The upside is that they run with the campaign idea that theft should be legal. It's no different than our politicians... just more honest in their intentions.