Despite losing the general election, the Pirate Party could still form Iceland's government

Back in October there was a mixture of great excitement and huge worry that the controversial Pirate Party could end up winning the general election in Iceland. That didn't happen, but with no clear winner there was an attempt to create a five-way coalition that ultimately failed after weeks of talks, paving the way for the radical party made up of poets, hackers and online freedom activists.

The Pirate Party -- which says it would offer exile to Edward Snowden and also embrace Bitcoin -- could still end up in power after being invited to form part of the government by Iceland's president. But even if the controversial, anti-establishment party does end up wielding power, it's unlikely that its more radical policies would come to fruition.

The founder of the Pirate Party, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, was invited on Friday by President Gudni Johannesson to form a government. He said: "Earlier today I met with the leaders of all parties and asked their opinion on who should lead those talks. After that I summoned Birgitta Jonsdottir and handed her the mandate".

Jónsdóttir, whose party managed to win a surprising 10 out of 63 parliamentary seats in the election, said: "I am hopeful that we will find a way to work together". As well as founding the party, she is also known for working with Julian Assange to expose civilian killings by the US military.

In addition to looking to offer Edward Snowden Icelandic citizenship, the Pirate Party also welcomes the decriminalization of drugs, and a loosening of copyright laws. Part of its proposed democratic process would involve the use of online polls to help decide government policies.