Pirates have seized a small village in Germany.
André Bonitz, the sitting mayor of the municipality of Eixen (population 764), has officially joined the German Pirate Party. The announcement actually took place on May 4, but was only recently noted by social news site Reddit.
Bonitz was elected in 2009 after running as an independent.
The Pirate Party, only six years old, is making strong headway in Europe by championing Internet-friendly ideals, such as copyright reform, privacy, and net neutrality.
Bontiz’s conversion is almost entirely a symbolic victory for the Pirate Party. On its Facebook page, the International Pirate Party noted “nothing changes” for the average citizen of Eixen, but Bonitz has scheduled a regular “pirate meeting, open to everyone, where the people can discuss with him and fellow pirates directly.”
Photo via Wikipedia Commons
