Transparency in politics, larger direct democracy, people-based welfare system, with no conditions or expiries for national benefits. These are the main points of the Piratenpartei election programme, which we have known in detail in the austere rooms of the Berlin Parliament, where the group’s forth assembly – the forth one after the elections – was held. Unfortunately, because of the first cold of the season many MPs were absent owing to illness. One of them was Susanne Graf, the only woman (a girl considered that she only 19 years old) in the election list.
The session took place in an informal but serious atmosphere, one hour of discussions and votes with a constant music background, the clicking of fingers on keyboards. Everyone, indeed, had a laptop on and, those who did not speak, took note on their computers. After all, technology and multimediality are crucial for this party, whose life blood is the Internet culture.
In an interview with Oliver Höfinghoff, the Social Policies representative of the Piratenpartei, we now discuss the main points of his party’s programme. “First of all, we need more transparency in politics and a larger direct and active democracy. We are also contrary to privatisations (in Berlin a process through which public spaces can be sold to private investors is under way, Editor’s note), if they do not take into account citizens’opinion”.
What do you mean by transparency in politics and how do you think you can realise it?
“There are two possible options: the first one is that of producing a sort of summary, a public presentation of what happens in Parliament, which may update voters every day. After all – and this is an idea launched some years ago by the CCC (Chaos Computer Club, Editor’s note) – a public database should be created, gathering all the information on parties, politicians and decision proceedings, so that citizens can easily observe the democratic process”.
What social policies would you like to put into practice?
“This is another important point of our programme: we think that national benefits should not be subjected to conditions or expiries of any kind. We believe they should simply guarantee the needy daily survival. There exist several welfare state models with these characteristics, we are now trying to create our model”.
Almost ten days ago, many European towns were the theatre of protests and demonstrations. In Germany the most striking ones were the sit-ins organized both in Frankfurt outside the European Central Bank and in Berlin outside the Reichstag. What do the Pirates think about this movement?
“We are quite skeptical about that. Although we agree with the main principles of the protest (it is unfair that common people pay for banks), we think it is important to underline that the purposes and claims of this occupy-bewegung (Movement for Occupation is the name that it took in Germany, Editor’s note) are the same that left-wing parties made in the past, the ideas of the Utopian left communists, it is nothing new”.
But, is the Piratenpartei a left-wing or a right-wing party?
“It is difficult to make a so sharp distinction – Oliver Höfinghoff says. Certainly we are more left-wing than right-wing, we are neoliberals and, therefore, we are contrary to left-wing conservatives. But our purposes, the transparency in politics and the greater participation of citizens into the democratic life of the country, go beyond any political barrier”.
On the inside: