Ah, I see the "piratenpartij" is now active in the US as well.
To be honest, I can't remember if they're still active in Belgium. They were about four/five years ago, but...this is going to sound hypocritical, but they didn't appeal to me. I mean...it's one thing to not believe in the power of intellectual property (which I can get behind...in theory), but as a core ideology it's going nowhere fast.
Well...not fast, obviously (the only political parties that claim to go fast are those that doesn't understand Belgium), but unless they bring some concrete proposals that other parties can get behind, it's a throwaway vote.
And again: this is Belgium. It almost takes dedication to create a political party that counts as a throwaway vote(1). So...it's not the climate but their inexperience that got them nowhere.
I heard they did relatively better in the Netherlands, but their political landscape is even more fragmented than ours so...don't assume the Dutchies somehow more drawn to pirates than average.
(2): fun trivia: nearby my parents-in-law is a small city called "Peer" (Dutch for Pear...and actually named after the fruit they're growing there). Some years ago, a few local goofballs had the idea to create a political party called Appel (yes: apple). I assume after a few nights in the pub. Because hey: "vote Apple in Pear...get it?
". Since then, they're part of the local government.