Pirate Party Does Well In European Election

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STEVE INSKEEP, host:

We're going to follow up now on the Pirate Party. A Swedish political party with a weird name and a passion for Internet freedom is making progress and at least a bit of popular support has come its way. The Pirate Party won a seat in the European Parliament last week. And Teri Schultz in Brussels has more.

TERI SCHULTZ: Deputy party chief, Christian Engstrom, agrees with a chuckle that perhaps all the attention has been somewhat disproportionate to the Pirate's win of one spot in a legislature of 736. Engstrom's party favors the right of privacy on the Internet and says the issues go far deeper than free downloads.

Mr. CHRISTIAN ENGSTROM (Deputy Party Chief, Pirate Party): We're suggesting that it luckily open up a new field in politics, the information politics and discuss that seriously.

SCHULTZ: The Pirate Party says Internet regulation is a matter of civil rights that are currently threatened if not violated by E.U. laws allowing governments to collect Web users' private data. Engstrom says the Pirate's rapid leap to become the third most popular party in Sweden has made politicians realize they have been complacent and need to catch up on that issue. He says it didn't surprise him, therefore, that the morning after the election, heads of major political groupings in the European parliament were calling him to seek his one seat support in Brussels.

Mr. ANGSTROM: We know the arguments in that debate. So we do have something to add to whatever group we ultimately choose.

SCHULTZ: Another point that makes Engstrom chuckle, his party opposes a new reform treaty making its way through E.U. government. But if the measure succeeds, a reconfiguration will give the Swedish pirates a second seat in the European parliament.

For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

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