Os piratas de Berlim

They are handy with computers and are interested in issues relating to the Internet. Is that all? Many Berliners have been scratching their heads about the true identity of Germany's youngest political party. But the answer is simple: They're the new Greens.

A protest party. A group of computer nerd misfits. Perhaps even a joke? Such were the portrayals of the Pirate Party in Berlin prior to Sunday's city-state election. After all, how could a single-issue party made up largely of 20-something men really be serious about politics?

That was then. Now, with 15 Pirates set to enter Berlin's regional parliament after receiving an astonishing 8.9 percent of the vote, capital city residents are taking a closer look at one of the most surprising political success stories Germany has seen in recent years. And what they have found is a group which has tapped into a political vein that Germany's more established political parties didn't even know existed.

"They have very clearly struck a nerve in this city," admitted the Green Party's lead candidate Renate Künast after the votes were counted.

Lothar Probst, a political scientist at the University of Bremen, went further. "For many young voters and first-time voters, this party embodies something fresh and adventuresome," he told the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

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