Pirate Party takes Mayor's chair in Swiss city

A Pirate Party branch founded last November has scored a win in regional elections in Switzerland, with the city of Eichberg to fly the pirate flag under new mayor, Alex Arnold. The 31-year-old software developer is a local to the town and works for works as a developer for VRSG, which focuses on software and systems …

[miknik]

Political affiliation/ideology aside...

I would piss myself if I drove into a town and their official buildings were flying the Jolly Roger

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Political affiliation/ideology aside...

Not that the Swiss have any form for keeping plundered bounty of course!

Oh wait, something about Nasty Gold, ooops did I say Nasty, well was a nasty business with all those Nazi's

Ahem, don't mention the war

[Anonymous Coward 15]

Re: Political affiliation/ideology aside...

(Insert rude joke about plundered booty here)

[Ole Juul]

Municipal?

Party politics have no real connections with municipal politics where I live. Does this guy's affiliation with the Pirate Party actually have any meaning in Switzerland? I suspect that the PP doesn't have much in the way of policies on local development like zoning. building permits, and street lighting. I don't get it.

[Chemist]

" Pirate Party takes Mayor's chair in Swiss city"

City ? Population about 1500 !

[P. Lee]

Does that make him the big cheese?

I'm not so sure - that argument is full of holes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not many votes were cast ("Das Wahlresultat fiel deutlich aus: Arnold holte 349 Stimmen, der erste SVP-Kandidat Walter Freund 145 Stimmen und der zweite SVP-Kandidat James Mock 61 Stimmen. Die Stimmbeteiligung lag bei 65 Prozent, wie die Gemeinde im St. Galler Rheintal mitteilte." http://bazonline.ch/schweiz/standard/Zum-ersten-Mal-wird-ein-Pirat-Gemeindepraesident/story/18684370 ) but the most satisfying thing is that he beat the right-wing SVP candidates, and even if there'd only been one of them he'd still have beaten them.

The SVP are the depressingly successful Swiss equivalent of a more hardline UKIP/BNP and were responsible for this monstrosity a couple of years ago: http://www.20min.ch/diashow/5362/Originalschafe.jpg

[Anonymous Coward]

A single sentence who or what the Pirate Party are and stand for might be nice.

[Shaun 1]

Free stuff.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Free stuff.

More like "Somebody else's stuff, free". Like all pirates.

[Anonymous Coward]

Err...

They can't afford to do press releases as non of their members pay their subscriptions...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Pirate Party takes Mayor's chair in Swiss city"

Those pesky pirates, always stealing things!

[Phil O'Sophical]

Maybe the Swiss misunderstood "international speak like a pirate" day?

[Not Fred31]

"The German organisation was also embarrassed last week when it emerged that party executive Julia Schramm’s publisher Random House is using DCMA takedown notices against those who pirate her book."

That was a publicity stunt... *obviously*

[Silverburn]

that the organization is in disarray in that country. Earlier this month, reports emerged of organizational problems – including non-payment of fees, in-fighting, and poor strategy.

Until they add "embezzlement of public funds", "moral flexibility" and "corruption" to the list, they'll never be a real political party. Looks like they're halfway there though...

[Derezed]

Really?

"including non-payment of fees, in-fighting, and poor strategy."

Who'd have thunk it? A party based on theft and basing an economy on not paying people for stuff being a useless rabble of turds? OMG!

[philbo]

Eichburg?

He should have run in Aarau