Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.11.2015, Blaðsíða 18

Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.11.2015, Blaðsíða 18
18 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 17 — 2015 Kolabrautin is on 4th floor Harpa Reservations +354 519 9700 info@kolabrautin.is www.kolabrautin.is A dinner at the elevated fourth floor of Harpa concert hall is a destination in itself. Relax and enjoy the best Icelandic produce complemented with a spectacular panoramic view of Reykjavík and the surrounding horizon. For a special evening with a view like no other Politics | Bright? core mission, it’s a hot topic for Iceland- ers, and the Core Policy meant there’s a framework for its creation according to an agreed foundational criteria. “Our fishing policy is a good policy in my opinion,” says Ásta. “We in the parliamentary group didn’t touch it, but what came out is a really good policy. At the moment, the rights belong to boats that were allowed to fish years and years ago, bringing no revenue to the state. The conclusion reached by our grassroots members, after talking to people working with fishing rights and the quota system, was that the quota should be put on the market and sold to the highest bidder, which is how it’s done in most places, and is a known format for dealing with natu- ral resources. The grassroots members made this, without any parliamentary experience or expertise—they were quite able to find the people they needed to talk to, figure out the problem, discuss it, and reach a conclusion. And that’s great.” E m p o w e r i n g members in policy- making is just one facet of the Pirates’ commitment to di- rect democracy. All three MPs express enthusiasm for cre- ating structures that allow for much greater political in- volvement than put- ting a cross in a box every four years. “We would have done more direct de- mocracy initiatives already if we had more people in Par- liament,” says Helgi. “We currently have just three MPs out of 63, which is not even 5%. So it wouldn’t have that much impact if we opened up our votes that way. Also, it wouldn’t work on every issue, because we need to go by the party’s core policy first. But there are certain issues where we would like the populace to decide for themselves. Pref- erably not even through MPs at all." Another form of direct participation is the website Ventill.is. This intention- ally non-partisan online voting platform allows individuals—having been validat- ed by their “Icekey” digital ID—to upvote or downvote the political questions of the day. It’s an experiment, and Helgi admits the results are skewed by the fact that the majority of the site’s users—those aware that it exists—are Pirate-affiliated at this early stage. But it’s another illustration of the creativity that the Pirates want to ap- ply to crowd-sourcing opinion and feed- ing the results into policy positions. Nü-democracy Wanting to be heard, and to be more ac- tive and more involved, is a sentiment that’s sweeping through democracies (and non-democracies) far outside of Iceland. From the Arab Spring to Ber- nie Sanders’s inter- net-led, grassroots presidential cam- paign, to Podemos (trans: "We can") in Spain, Syriza (trans: “From the roots”) in Greece, and a newly in- vigorated Labour movement in the UK under vet- eran socialist MP Jeremy Corbyn, change is in the air. Around the world, old political parties and established power structures are creaking under a desire for real change from individuals who have more access to information than at any time in history. “It’s all a part of the transformative times we’re living in,” says Birgitta. “Peo- ple are realising their democracies are not what they are supposed to be. That’s why it’s important for us to strengthen the powers of Parliament here in Iceland, so the people can have more access to what’s happening—how policies are be- ing formed and put forward. Or even a chance to form policies by themselves. Young people in particular find it unac- ceptable that they can only wield influ- ence once every four years.” Birgitta believes the disparate inter- national movements are all energising the same demographics, including a dis- enfranchised new generation with an appetite for a different kind of politics, and other groups who feel excluded and ignored, including ethnic minorities, people in low-wage jobs, and the disabled and elderly. “Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn and the Pirate Party are all attracting these people,” says Birgitta. She pauses for a moment, coming over serious. “And I hope these movements don’t take away that hope by disappointing them. If you make a mistake, you’re not forgiven. It’s an emotional tie, and it’s important not to play with it. It’s important to take it seri- ously.” And the Pirates do. They offer an al- ternative to the mainstream parties to a public who hope that the Pirate Party’s sharp-eyed, technologically literate, for- ward-thinking take on politics can help make sense of a rapidly-changing world. “I think it’s very important that peo- ple understand that we have to start to develop a vision for what kind of world we want to live in,” finishes Birgitta. “I sometimes ask people: ‘Have you thought about how you want things to be in 25 years?’ As a writer, I know it’s important that we start to tell each other stories, to start this discussion—to develop a collec- tive vision, through all means possible. It doesn’t have to be utopian… but this is a fucking fantastic world.” “And I’d like to see people thinking more about where it’s going." The Core Policy and Pirate Platform The Pirate Party use its so-called Core Policy as a foundation for forming wider issue-based policies, which are approved through a vote by party members, “in conjunction with issue meetings and executive meetings away from keyboard.” We’ve summarised all of the Pirate Party’s key stated po- sitions below, as laid out in their “Pirate Platform.” You can read the full policies at www.piratar.is. Direct democracy: Public involvement in policy making. Transparency: Allowing public access to all pertinent information required to make informed decisions. Copyright reform: Updating copyright in order to, amongst other things, enable free communication. Humane drug policy: Treating addicts medically rather than criminally. Education: Updating education to be “more diverse, flexible, connect- ed to the internet and directly connected to society” plus mandatory sex education focussed on “mutual respect, communication, and informed consent.” Equality: Guaranteeing equality by law: “Pirates want not just toler- ance but for everyone to be accepted and appreciated.” The EU: An open, transparent debate followed by a referendum. The Constitution: Pirates want to amend the constitution in a way that is materially identical to The Constitutional Council’s proposed bill. Home Debt: A variety of proposed changes to loan fees, mortgage and loan laws. Employment & Economy: More attention for small businesses and the internet economy. Welfare: Introduce a minimum wage, increase opportunities for benefit claimants, changes to improve property rental situation. "Whenever someone in government speaks about the Pirates, we go up in the polls. It’s actually surprising how weak the attacks are. They’re kind of shallow and borderline childish. We wonder whether to an- swer them or not." - Helgi Hrafn "To know or feel the ethical or moral guidelines of how we want our society to be, you don’t have to be an expert. You just need to be able to debate, to learn, to process and un- derstand informa- tion and arrive at a good conclusion.” - Ásta
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