In a stunning victory, Sweden's Pirate Party secured 2 seats in the EU Parliament. The grass-roots effort had no government funding whatsoever, but managed to capture 7.1% of the Swedish vote. Christian Engström has been named Member of Parliament, while Amelia Andersdotter is a so-called shadow rep. Currently, the 7.1% gives the Pirate Party one seat, but upon the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, Sweden will gain two reps., one of whom shall be Amelia Andersdotter.
There was also a strong showing of German Pirates this election, with 230,000 Germans voting Pirate. This was more Pirate voters than in Sweden, however only accounted for 0.9% of the vote. This is a strong show of support, which shall play an important role in the growth of the international Pirate community.
