Saksan vastaukset

Saksan piraattipuolueen vastaukset vaalikampanjointia koskeviin kysymyksiin.

• K: What have been the main obstacles in your recent election campaigns?
• V: In Germany, we have a 5% barrier, to get into a parliament, so the People tend to vote for the big parties so to that they would not waste their votes. The press often thought that we are just a joke or irrelevant, so they did't read our Program nor publish our press realeses. People thought we had something to do with the pirates in Somalia.

• K: What have been the easiest parts?
• V: To set up mailing lists, web sites, etc. - things we IT guys do every day. ;)

• K: How did you get your candidates? Was it easy? Did you have to contact them or did they contact you? How early did you start asking people if they would want to be candidates?
• V: You don't want to know... :) in my case, I read about the Pirate Party on some Websites, and decidedto join. I was one of the 50 first Members.

• K: What kind of campaign events did you have?
• V: We did a lot of info desks in the Cities.

• K: How early did you start campaigning?
• V: March for the election in Sebtember - because we need to collect 2000 support subscriptions per federal state.

• K: How did you use internet in campaigning?
• V: Internal communication
  • Groups in social Networks
  • Posting comments about the Party on big news sites
  • Sending friends links

• K: How much did you use traditional campaigning methods?
• V: We used election posters and did a lot of info desks

• K: Who were your focus groups? Did you try to just get votes from those who already understand the pirate agenda or did you actively try to get e.g. older people to also vote you?
• V: We just tried to get everyone we could reach. It's often surprising, what kind of people sympathise with the Ideas of the Pirates. As I said, we tried to get everyone we could get. I someone was willing to talk to us we tried to convince him to get to "the bright side of the force".

• K: Did you participate in election debates (televised or other) with other parties? What kind of experiences you got from the debates? (In Finland at least, all registered parties get to participate in nationally televised election debates.)
• V: We had a TV spot - this overloaded our webserver a few times. We did't participate in debates - but this is changing. On Monday evening, Dirk (our big boss) will be on Phoenix TV.

• K: How much money did you use in campaigning?
• V: Formal a few 1000 €uros. But a lot of people used their private money/cars/gas etc. to do a lot of work. If you sum this money up, it will be a lot more, but I have no numbers for you.

• K: What was the secret of your succesful EU election campaign?
• V: The PirateBay trial. A lot people are pissed of, by the new monitoring and censorship laws from the last months and years and don't want to live in 1984. People see that we have a great chance, if we free Information.

• K: Other comments/suggestions/ideas?
• V: Don't think to much, just start doing what you think is the best. Everything else comes by it self.