So as we come to the Day of the Dead and spirits all over the planet return to be honoured and cast an eye over what’s going on…… will the Pirate Party in Iceland hoist a skull and crossbones over that island?  I’ve just read this interview with Birgitta Jonsdottir – their figurehead (crashing through the waves of disbelief).

What I like most in her words is the clear statement that elected politicians don’t necessarily know ANYTHING and we must find ways in which the wisdom of the people is engaged.  As I talk to more groups of people (most recently at the sold out 38Degrees Live event in Exeter) I am constantly struck by the hunger to be engaged in politics.  Alongside that goes a desire for factual critical information.  This lack is at the heart of so much that is wrong with our failing democracy.  While Party politicians have their own preservation ahead of the greater good and the press is almost entirely a pathetic insult to journalism, getting the right information to connect that desire of the grassroots to engage and decision making is a real challenge!

However, the internet does provide the capacity to find out what’s really out there.  If enough people at the community level can build networks and relationships that they trust, perhaps we can reclaim politics through those illusive facts.

Who knows what the Pirates might achieve if elected – but from what I read that’s exactly the realism and intent they are intending to inject into Iceland’s future.