TorrentFreak

The place where breaking news, BitTorrent and copyright collide

Dutch Pirate Party Fails to Enter Parliament

Today the Dutch Pirate Party had the chance to become the first democratically chosen Pirate Party in a national parliament.

piratenpartijAlthough the Pirates tripled the number of votes compared to last election, it was not enough.

Leading up to today’s elections several polls put the Pirate Party at one seat or more.

However, in the voting booths “only” 0.3% voted for the Pirates according to the latest reports (with 10% of the total vote counted).

Not enough to secure one of the 150 seats in the Dutch Parliament.

Full results are available at Google and Andrew Norton is blogging live.

This post is from the News Bits section of TorrentFreak where we present stories from around the web in a concise summary format. Full TorrentFreak articles can be found here. If you have a tip please let us know. News Bits have their very own RSS feed
  • www2

    Torrent freak now is to early and we need to wait until count all the votes.

    • Bonnie

      Too early reported or not, the conclusion is valid: the Pirate Party of the Netherlands tripled its number of votes, compared to 2010. An amazing achievement in itself. With 99.5% of votes counted, the pirates have 30438 votes, corresponding to 0.49 seats in parliament.

  • Lol

     Hard to see why the didn’t get in, after all the good they have done as a political group.

    /sarcasm

    • Harold

       Well what did you expect from a political party that _doesn’t have seats yet_?

  • 7th_Guest

    Economies have been in a spiral all across the EU for a while now and in tough times like these, people tend to hard boil their priorities and vote more strategically than ideologically. Anyway, gg to the Dutch Pirates regardless and don’t sweat it too much. We’ll get there eventually, Pirates will break into EU countries’ national parliaments; it’s inevitable.

    Greetings from your friends in the South and keep your chin up :).

    • Guest

      yes I agree it is inevitable due to the proportional systems here and it will be one huge elephant in the room when it happens. it may take time to get young people organised and for some old people to die but it will happen eventually due to the pressure greedy old people are placing on the young. I also think we are in for a wave of anti old people politics soon in the next generation…and they deserve it frankly….

  • Pingback: Dutch Pirate Party Fails to Enter Parliament

  • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

    Good.  A political party formed around the notion of “Free Stuff” is fuckin’ ridiculous.

    Someone should teach these people business and economics.  

    • Iseemtobelost

       It has shit to do with free stuff but please, continue to think it does.

      J.

      • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

        Are you kidding?  It’s the Pirate party – PIRATE PARTY.  You know what a Pirate is, don’t you? 

        • Midas

          Please stop living. The name “Pirate Party” was applied because of the constant criminalization of regular tax paying citizens. It’s a statement. Learn to fucking semantics.

        • Guest

          Your Strawman just used up all the straw! Bastard!

        • Pirate & Proud

           Are you kidding?  You’re a retard – RETARD.  You know what a retard is, don’t you? 

        • PirateParty

          You’re finished..

        • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

          yawn*

    • Guest

      Hahahaha, poor Jay. He knows that at the rate the Dutch Pirate Party is picking up votes, they’re going to win at least one seat in the next election. 

      And he fears.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay

        Hey, hey… Let’s not disparage me… I mean, JAY here.  He’s just living in a fantasy world where everyone that’s a pirate just wants free stuff instead of understanding that people want hassle-free content from enablers instead of gatekeepers.

    • Fredrika

      > “A political party formed around the notion of “Free Stuff” is fuckin’ ridiculous.”

      You obviously know nothing about neither the Dutch Pirate Party or Dutch copyright law. Downloading is already fully legal in The Netherlands. Neither the Dutch people nor the Dutch politicians find that notion ridiculous, they in fact find it to be completely self-evident, just as several hundreds of millions of people around the world also do.

      Secondly, the price for manufacturing copies through filesharing is free, regardless of what anyone thinks, believes, wants or advocates, the price can never be anything else. The price free is not a notion, it’s a logical fact, try filesharing yourself and you will find this to be true.

      Thirdly, that you personally find something ridiculous is not an argument, but more interestingly, the only growing group in the parliament of the worlds biggest economy didn’t think it was ridiculous, they in fact thought it was so intelligent, correct, constructive and thought through that they adopted the Pirate Parties stance on partial dismantling of the the copyright monopoly in it’s entirety.

      > “Someone should teach these people business and economics.”

      Coming from a person who argues against the free market and advocates legislative monopolies out of principle.

      • OccamsKatana

        Feel free to tear him another one Fredrika!  Big enough so he can stick his head all the way in!

    • OccamsKatana

      Good. A political party formed around the idea of fighting for your rights and freedoms is fuckin’ ridiculous too, right?  You really don’t have a clue, do you? Someone should teach you what it’s all about. But you really don’t care about that now, do ya, TROLL. Crawl back into your hole now….

    • DutchGuest

       Sodd off paytroll.

      • Mr. T

        That’s it, well done! Label someone a troll if they have different opinions! Very clever! :)

        • Guest

          Jay is being called a troll not because of any opinion he holds, but because he’s  fucking lying. The Duth Pirate Party wasn’t “founded around the notion of free stuff”. 

          And since you’re lying about why Jay has been labelled a troll, that makes you a troll as well, now doesn’t it?

        • Hu Ping Gop

          @2847785b29c8cfc57d76b7a9d89a5a7b:disqus  Jay has form and regularly trolls here.

    • tetridae

       Learn some history. The whole industrialization thing was based on “making stuff cheaper”. Those who opposed industrialization as it happened are viewed as extremely ego conservatives today.

      Internet just does the same thing, but with information. It is reasonable to believe that our successors will view the anti-internet-revolution people as ego-conservative dinosaurs too.

      • chibijoshie

        I’m a conservative and I’m 100% for the free market. I really wonder why conservatives have such a social stigma that we get blamed for pretty much all the economic troubles in the world XD

        • tetridae

           I’m sorry. I constantly seem to use the word “conservative” without second thought that it has a different meaning in Europe compared to in the US. Maybe “protectionist” is a better word, I don’t know.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay


          I’m a conservative and I’m 100% for the free market. I really wonder why conservatives have such a social stigma that we get blamed for pretty much all the economic troubles in the world

          That’s because they are.  You know those trade zones you believe in?  They don’t work for any nation concerned.  They work well for corporations.  How about “Free trade” agreements?  Doesn’t do a damn thing but move jobs to smaller countries that use slave labor.  Personal profit?  Look at Mitt Romney and Bain who was a debt creator.

          If anything, being a conservative equates to horrible policies that hurt nations where conservatives are in control.

    • MorganChangarai

      ‘Free Stuff’, like cheap generic medicines to keep national healthcare costs down? Oh, I see, you hate the idea that people should be able to afford good health. You’re fuckin’ ridiculous @Kunu:disqus .

      • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

        Good health is relative. Some would say that a life on cheap medication isn’t “good health” at all.

        • Guest

          Oh yeah, I forgot life on expensive medication is even better when they’re the same thing except for the cost. What planet are you living on???

  • ktetch

    I just closed the liveblog, with 12 districts to go, it had just under 30,000 votes. A big improvement on 2 years ago, but not good enough. 

  • Pingback: Dutch Pirate Party Fails to Enter Parliament

  • Firefucks

    Do not despair as the our time will come!

  • SomeGuy

    If you take a look at the results for every district (
    http://www.nu.nl/tk2012.html ), you can see that the PP did reach the required 0.6% of votes in cities with large groups of students (Delft, Enschede, Groningen, Amsterdam, Eindhoven). 

    It might imply that the younger generation is more aware of the problems in our over-a-century-old copyright laws.

    • Oehoeboeroe

      The days before the elections there were “high school elections (scholierenverkiezingen)” for the ages 15-17. In this age group the Dutch Pirate Party was the 5th party with 9.4% of the votes. Just wait for the next elections.

  • Whatever

    This whole election was a circus. Lead by fear and opinion polls. Nothing more.

    People didn’t choos the party they wanted to vote for but chose to only vote against “the other side”.

  • Aknakata

    Epic fail for the pirates!

    • me

      Sadly, it’s true. An epic fail for our fellow Dutch pirates.

      In Germany, the Pirate Party is also declining in the polls, currently hovering around 5 to 6%. Should they drop below 5%, they too won’t be able to clear the hurdle to enter the Bundestag.

      Pirates should remember to campaign in real life, not just on the Internet. This is their (our’s) weakest spot.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay

        I think the Pirate Party needs to get a progressive platform and rally around that.  If they want to get better with their platform and push people from the left (ie more taxation, open internet, etc) it coincides with stronger progressive views of liberty and freedom.

        It’s time for them to advance with those ideals and possibly merge with the Green Party or other liberal views and form a better party overall.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501144480 Sean A. Pepper

        I absolutely agree. Those that are campaigning should canvass door to door and speak to the constituents they hope to represent. Most people find what they are looking for and filter out other information on the net. For example I accidentally stumbled upon the information that a co-founder of pirate bay was extradited back to Sweden today. It was kind of a chain reaction that lead me to this thread.

  • Strawbear

    You go with a single issue platform, what do you expect? You’ll be a protest vote and nothing else.

    Hopefully something substantial will grow from the PP, but it needs to broaden its manifesto.

    • Whatever

      So what side do you want their manifesto to be ? Right wing or left wing ?
      This won’t work. It will marginalize the current core issues, make negotiations problematic and those who vote for PP won’t trust them anymore. And in the end voters will still vote “strategically” (which is more like sheep than strategic).

      Also it’s not a single issue platform and their issues overshadow all other issues. Without those you don’t need to worry about the 2% more or less in your wallet.

      If they only have one issue then describe this one issue in one sentence to see if you are correct. All other parties always have the same 3 issues at every election and still get votes.

    • me

      “Hopefully something substantial will grow from the PP, but it needs to broaden its manifesto.”

      I beg to disagree. We pirates are a political pressure group seeking to educate the other parties to adopt our topics. There’s no need to turn into yet another of those boring parties.

    • Pick Up A P-P-P-Pirate

      Once again with the strawman argument ‘single issue platform’. That’s a nonsense and if you didn’t already know, you can easily find out why it’s a nonsense by visiting the regional party websites.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501144480 Sean A. Pepper

        Seconded

  • Bor

    ..

  • Beemmm

    what is thisSSS

  • Guest

    Don’t distress, there was progress compared to the last time.
    Keep it up and next time will be better.
    The Dutch seem like very progressive people, they will get a Pirate member eventually.

  • Pingback: Torrent News » Prominent Anti-Piracy Chief Suspected of Drug Crime

  • Pingback: Torrent News » Pirate Bay Founder Officially Arrested For Tax Hack, Denies Accusations

  • Anon

    “ they will get a Pirate member eventually.”

    lol so pathetic. This deserves its own meme. lol

    • Heynonanon

      In the UK the Pirate Party got more votes than UKIP in every seat they contested at the last election. UKIP have a much higher profile and have been around far longer – they’ve also had seats in the European Parliament. Simply claiming that this result is ‘pathetic’ suggests your fear of the truth – that as a political movement it has grown faster from its formation than probably any other now mainstream party did in their early years.

  • ingo

    I think they have to show the postitive benefits of their policies. Need some sort of world study based on what files have gone where and whose benefiting from them. Hard evidence to show that those files are doing something to improve the lives of people otherwise it’ll always be a problem to persuade others that it can have a political dimension. Compare the educational material in regards to its availablilty pre-filesharing and its current availability through torrents. It would be quite good publicity if it could be proved that that out of a 50,000 download figure of an educational or software torrent that it had reached the widest world audience and penetrated into markets that wouldn’t necessarily have direct access to the material. Set out to prove that an unrestricted internet and the free distribution of information or tools is beneficial. 

  • ingo

    Drop the name might be a good idea. Pirate Party is too narrow. Better to call it the Anonymous Party or something else. At least Anonymous describes its universal reach and the general feeling of the people it seeks to represent. 

    • The_Strawbear

      Anonymous as a name has been tainted now, the hacking group don’t get a great press. Some would say with justification.

      But I agree with your thought. Calling it the pirate party appeals greatly to a minority and the majority see either a party with a stupid name or a party advocating all manner of things. Over all it’s not going to be taken seriously by enough people over the age of 25 to make a difference.

      • ingo

         Anonymous is a fine name and has not been tainted. They didn’t launch the Stuxnet code. I disagree with the over 25 age limit. Its my experience that filesharing is done by all age-groups and backgrounds – good ideas usually draw everyone in. Maybe the Pirate Parties have to answer the basics first – housing, jobs, tax, etc. Lets say a Pirate Party member is elected; are they going to vote for the austerity measures a la Greek style that some governments are putting in place. Whats the Pirate Parties intentions on unemployment – do they advocate deregulating business therefore empowering the employer to hire and fire at will or long-term training programs for those that need skills updated. How about the railway infrastructure, etc. Politics is about making society better and that includes that yellow line at the edge of the railway station platform.  

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501144480 Sean A. Pepper

          The name has a negative connotation and you must admit that. A pirate is someone who steals, robs, pillages, etc. The Pirate Bay although a great indexer for file sharing is hugely famous for copyright infringement in the mainstream media. Having a political party called “The Pirate Party” denotes being a caterer to younger rebellious thinkers (myself included), and does not appeal to the majority (even if what they stand for is truth and freedom for all).

          If you want to get legitimate votes then rethink the name and the strategy. Don’t try and defend a method that is proven not to work. Leave that for our current politicians. :)

  • GUEST

    Just wait till people’s rights are getting fucked over and BREIN enforces monitoring of all user-activity in Holland on the Internet. Then the Pirate Party will be shot into parliament.

    People don’t realise that this has to be pre-emptive and a proactive solution before the dark days are striken by anti-piracy groups that demand total control of the Internet.

  • Pingback: Pirate Bay Founder Officially Arrested For Tax Hack, Denies Accusations - TorrentFreak |

  • No

    i voted for them, again…. *sigh*

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501144480 Sean A. Pepper

      Keep voting!

  • Pingback: France, US, Switzerland Block WIPO Membership for Pirates | TorrentFreak

  • Pingback: France, US, Switzerland Block WIPO Membership for Pirates

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

NewsBits

Even more news...

  • The Pirate Bay Isn’t Down Completely, Just Having a Few Issues

    Twitter and Facebook, not to mention the TorrentFreak inbox, are currently alive with complaints that The...

  • Pirate Bay Founder Gottfrid Svartholm on Freedom of Speech

    Freedom of speech is a highly valued commodity, but should people be allowed to say whatever...

  • Blu-ray Anti-Piracy Tech Stops Discs and Promotes Purchases

    An anti-piracy system present in all official Blu-ray players since 2012 has received a fresh update...

  • Foxtel Breeds Pirates by Locking Up Game of Thrones

    One of the main reasons why people turn to piracy is the lack of legal alternatives....

  • UK Student Admits Breaching Sony Copyrights With Leak of PS3 SDK

    Last year an Internet user known as El Nomeo leaked version 3.70 of Sony’s Playstation3 SDK...

MostDiscussed

Below are TorrentFreak's most discussed articles of the past month. Join the discussion if you like.

CopyQuote

Left Quote

“The Pirate Bay has been one of the most important movements in Sweden for freedom of speech, working against corruption and censorship.

Peter Sunde Left Quote

PopularArticles

A selection of some TorrentFreak's classics dug up from our archives.