To be fair, the Pirate Party didn't make giant strides forward solely (or even primarily) because of its technology policy. It's more likely that its values of free speech, privacy and government transparency appealed directly to citizens frustrated with shady politics. Also, this wouldn't be nearly as feasible in many other countries. Iceland's small population (less than 400,000 people) and approach to democracy increased the Pirates' chances of scooping up enough votes to have meaningful power.

No matter how the results came to be, they could easily amount a litmus test for the Pirate Party. If it joins a ruling coalition, it gets to show whether or not its tech-savvy ideology can make a difference on a national scale. And even if it's left out, it's large enough in Iceland that it could ally with sympathetic parties on key votes. No, the election probably won't have a tremendous effect on other countries, but it could give other Pirate Parties some added credibility.