Sinking Pirates

The German Pirate Party held a convention in Neumarkt, Bavaria, from May 10 to 12, and elected its new political director. Katharina Nocuń, a 26-year-old student, succeeds Johannes Ponader, who became embroiled in a row with party chairman Bernd Schlömer.

For many activists, such disagreements explain the fall in support for the Pirate Party, which has now bottomed out with only 4 per cent of people saying they plan to vote for the group in parliamentary elections due to be held in September. This would leave them short of the 5 per cent threshold, which would allow it to be represented at the Bundestag.

This crisis is also reflected in Party's rejection during the convention, of a project to establish a permanent online dialogue between members and activists. The party, which vocally supports transparency and participatory democracy, suggested the idea as a means to revitalise its political fortunes.