Icelandic Pirate Party asked to form government

We be in uncharted waters now

Iceland's president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson has asked the nation's Pirate Party to form government.

A new proclamation and edict (PDF in Icelandic) gives Pirate captain Birgitta Jonsdottir a mandate to lead negotiations with rival parties in an attempt to find a working majority in the Alþingi, Iceland's Parliament.

Jóhannesson's given the Pirates a chance to form government because no party won an absolute majority in the 63-seat Alþingi, but the two parties that won more votes than the Pirates have failed to secure a working majority. It's therefore the Pirates' turn to lead negotiations.

The last round of negotiations was led by the Left-Green Movement and looked to have a decent chance as there are at least 27 votes on the left-leaning side of the Parliament. But the small parties of the left could not agree on a number of matters, meaning that the Regeneration Party and its pivotal seven seats never really came into play.

Pirate leader Birgitta Jónsdóttir is in no rush: the party's statement says it looks forward to negotiations this week.

The Pirate Party's policies emphasise privacy and freedom, support personal use of cryptography and follow the International Pirate Party Codex that says party members “take advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet and are therefore enabled to think and act without borders.” ®