The Young Pirates of Sweden has nominated the Swedish Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask, to the Mars One project. They now hope that she will accept the nomination and leave Earth and politics behind her.

The not-for-profit organisation Mars One made great waves in media earlier this year when they started taking applications to create the first human settlement on Mars in 2023. 165 000 people have since applied for a one way ticket – most of them for their interest in science and exploration, but the Pirates have now nominated Beatrice Ask for a completely different reason.

“We want to send the Minister of Justice to Mars since she has systematically dismantled the legal security in Sweden”, said Young Pirates of Sweden president Gustav Nipe to Nyheter24. “We think it would be the best for all parties if she moved to another planet.”

Beatrice Ask is unpopular for Swedish Pirates for many reasons, including supporting the FRA law in 2008 which introduced a mass surveillance of all communication passing through Swedish borders. She is frequently the target of criticism, and the Swedish Pirate Party has previously commanded her resignation, but these are the largest measures asked for yet.

The Young Pirates are now hoping that she will accept the nomination, fully aware that it could mean hard training and having to give up her political responsibilities. But they also wish to increase focus on space exploration overall.

“Man is curious and wish to discover new things”, Nipe told Pirate Times. “By traveling into space we can take humanity on the coolest trip ever. Sadly, less is spent on space today, partly because the US aren’t making the same investments they used to. When the cold war ended there was no longer a reason for a space race. Therefore, it is important for Europe to take the lead.”

Beatrice Ask has been contacted by Pirate Times, but has yet to comment on the nomination.

Featured image by NASA, in the public domain.

About Anton Nordenfur

I’m party organiser for the Swedish Pirate Party, and work as a freelancing writer and translator. I’m primarily interested in research politics and LGBTQ rights, and blog in Swedish over at antonnordenfur.com.

 

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The Young Pirates of Sweden has nominated the Swedish Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask, to the Mars One project. They now hope that she will accept the nomination and leave…