There is a good chance that a party often derided as a joke could soon form government in a small, Nordic island nation in the north Atlantic.

“Pirate government” might sound like an oxymoron, but a series of events building since the Global Financial Crisis is coming to a head in Iceland that could take the Pirate Party from punchline to office of prime minister.

A political storm is swirling over Iceland. Squalls of corruption allegations have gained a hurricane pace with Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and his wife Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir sitting in its eye.





Late Tuesday, the prime minister resigned amid growing pressure from the details about his company disclosed in the Panama Papers, handing power to his deputy.

Scandal surrounded Gunnlaugsson for several with weeks. Calls for his resignation sounded on the back allegations he and his wife – a former banker – are alleged owners of an offshore shell company worth millions but paying no tax.

This past weekend resignation cries became a deafening roar as the Panama Papers seem to reveal the prime minister – and a number of other ministers, MPs and other prominent members of the community – have allegedly siphoned off funds to tax havens around the globe.

View photos Icelanders take to the streets of the capital Reykjavik to protest corruption unveiled in the Panama Papers. Source: AAP More

View photos Tens of thousands march outside the Althing, Iceland's parliament. Source: AAP More

Gunnlaugsson insisted the uxorial Birtish Virgin Islands-based company, Wintris Inc, (he sold his share to his wife for just $1) has done nothing below board. Yet, he stormed out of a TV interview when pressed about it Sunday.

"I have not considered quitting because of this matter nor am I going to quit because of this matter," Gunnlaugsson told Iceland's Channel 2 as walked out the door. However, the PM is still refusing to release his tax papers.

Icelandic citizens' angry howls for the PMs resignation have been matched with petition signed by 30,000 – nearly 10 per cent of the population.

Leading the call in Iceland's parliament, the Althing, are three unlikely Pirate MPs who would be at the centre of the next government. Pirate and titular opposition leader Birgitta Jónsdóttir has been gunning for the PM for weeks. Now Gunnlaugsson is mortally wounded.

View photos Banana for scale: Angry Icelanders take to the scale, their fury palpable about allegations their PM has off-shored funds. Source: AAP More

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